When it Rains
by Kakashis-First-Kiss
Summary: ItaKaka. Itachi finds himself feeling pity for Kakashi, brought to Akatsuki as a prisoner and given to Pein before Itachi. He can't figure out Kakashi's past with Akatsuki, but he's got a feeling that isn't exactly full of sunshine...
1. Chapter 1

_Pein wandered into the basement-the dungeons of the Akatsuki lair. He had heard rumors about the prisoner they had just captured, and wanted to see for himself. They said he was wild, untamed, completely feral, and that even Pein couldn't break his spirit. Itachi had failed, even after stabbing him with a katana for three days straight…_

_The guard let him in, allowing him access to the cell without question. Pein walked in, surveying the prisoner chained to the wall in front of him. He couldn't move, clearly: he had been blindfolded, gagged, and chained so tightly that his limbs quivered with the tension. Couldn't break him-what a joke. Whatever Pein wanted, Pein got. And if it was a broken slave, huddled at his feet, whimpering and begging for mercy, he would have it. No ifs, ands, or buts. Pein let a small frown grace the corners of his lips. Was he truly ready for such a wild creature?_

_Of course. He was a god. He had the bridle of Athena in his hand, and the hubris of Zeus in his other._

"_I'll take him. But, hear me now: if he is not broken in a month, I will personally slaughter him."_

Itachi paced the room, simply for lack of anything better to do. He was bored. Kisame was always out, doing something. If Itachi didn't know better, he might say that the shark-man was ignoring him. Or, better yet, avoiding him. Well, Itachi wasn't that type. He really couldn't care less. But still, it would be nice to have a companion…just someone to talk to. Or even just someone to sit there, and just be there. Even the presence of another human was comforting. Itachi sighed, flopping down on the sofa and picking through his pile of books. He had already read everything there was to read…ugh. This was so boring. The only other thing to do was clean, and that would take Itachi down a road to clean-freak-ness he didn't even want to think about now. The room was clean; that all that mattered.

Itachi sighed, standing up again. There was something he wanted to check out-the rumors of a new prisoner that Pein had taken on a month ago. Everyone had kept it very hushed, since it was clear that this one belonged to Pein. Even so, the rumors were starting again, this time that Pein had let go of him, and was allowing someone else to take him. Itachi wasn't sure about the rumors, but he did want to verify the prisoner's identity: an old friend, shall we say: Hatake Kakashi. Itachi thought it would be interesting to have Kakashi here-he had always enjoyed his talks with the older man back in ANBU, and respected him as an authority figure and as a friend both. He always had something to say-he just never said it. He said it was because no one listened.

Itachi believed him.

Without thinking, Itachi found himself in the prison cells, walking down the aisle and looking for Kakashi. He finally stopped himself and asked one the guards: the man turned around, inserted his key into the lock on the door directly behind him, and pushed the door open. "Just don't touch his head," the man grunted, taking his seat again just outside the door. Itachi paused for a moment, unsure of the man's intentions. Well, whatever. Find out when he got in there.

Itachi was floored by what he saw.

Kakashi knelt in the middle of the floor, head hanging, silver hair matted with blood and falling down to grace his suddenly slender shoulders. His entire body looked like he hadn't eaten in a month-and if Itachi knew Pein, he hadn't. Even his hips were more prominent than they should have been. It almost made Itachi physically ill to see such a skinny creature. But, past that, the sight was worse: blood mated Kakashi's hair, and weighed it down, but it was also caked over his entire body. Itachi could see scars, old and new, as sharp as if they were fresh. Bruises littered Kakashi's milky pale skin-he had been severely beaten. As if the starvation wasn't enough to make Itachi sick, the obvious disregard for the value of Kakashi's life made Itachi violently ill. Kakashi slowly raised his head, as if took every ounce of his energy: two pearly tears fell from Kakashi's eyes, both of which were exposed. Itachi's heart skipped a beat-his mask had been removed, and Kakashi's entire face was revealed. His entire, beautiful face…Kakashi truly was beautiful. And the abuse was just too much for Itachi. He turned to the side and bent over, trying not to look at Kakashi, chained down miserably and obviously so frightened and abused. It was futile, though: Itachi had seen the evidence on Kakashi's stomach.

Rape.

That was the final straw. Itachi bent over further, doubling over with the force of his stomach's spasms. His entire stomach turned, heaved, and emptied itself onto the floor. When he could look at Kakashi again, Itachi could see more evidence of cruelty: burns marks, whip lashes, abrasions, lacerations, even puncture wound sin other places. And, around Kakashi's slender, dainty neck: a collar. Around his wrists, heavy chains. Around his ankles, more of the same. Itachi was disgusted. How could someone treat even a prisoner with such disregard?

"Itachi-sama…please…"

Itachi could hardly bear to hear Kakashi's voice. Instead of the calm, smooth tone it had taken before, it was only a broken whisper. Itachi tried to keep himself under control, and snapped, "What?"

Kakashi flinched away from him, ducking his head and trying to hide his tears. "I-I'm sorry," he murmured, keeping his eyes low and away from Itachi. Itachi immediately felt guilt stab at his heart like a knife-he had been too harsh, then. Or maybe it was Kakashi who was at fault…? Itachi shook his head. He would not fall for a lowly slave!

"What did you want?" Itachi asked, keeping his voice flat and even. He couldn't give away any emotion.

"I…Itachi-sama, I've been waiting for someone for weeks now…if I am not taken, Pein will kill me. Please, Itachi-sama, help me," Kakashi pleaded, raising his head to look Itachi in the eyes. Clearly, he was terrified, but the threat of death looming ever-closer was what frightened him more. Was he appealing to Itachi as the man's only hope? What was this, the harshness of the treatment here? Itachi took several long, swift steps out of the cell, closing the door almost all the way before saying to the guard outside, "What do I have to do to make him mine?"

The man shrugged. "Just take 'im," he said, lighting up a cigarette. "I'd give him something to eat, though. Been two and a half weeks."

Itachi's eyes widened. Two and a half weeks?! How was Kakashi still alive? Itachi took the key from the guard, and walked back into the cell, trying to keep himself under control. Kakashi was sobbing quietly, looking utterly defeated. Itachi quietly approached him, taking the man's advice about not making any sudden movements. If Kakashi had been tortured as severely as these injuries said, then Itachi needed to very careful with him. Itachi gently raised a hand to touch Kakashi's shoulder-apparently, the jounin hadn't seen him, because he let out a startled yelp and darted away from Itachi. Terrified whimpers began issuing from his throat, and he backed as far as the chains would allow. It wasn't very far; about a foot. Itachi's heart immediately went out to Kakashi. He was sitting here for what must have been days, starving to death, and no one bothered to help him? All they had to do was give him something to eat, and let him be-and this wouldn't be nearly so bad. Itachi sighed, carefully lowering himself to sit down cross-legged in front of Kakashi. "Come here," he said softly, offering a hand to the fragile jounin. Kakashi shied away at first, whimpering and crying. But, slowly, he began to come around: Itachi sat still, waiting, until Kakashi decided to come to him. "Come on," he coaxed. "I'm going to get you out of here. You want something to eat? Come on, I know you're starving…come here, I need to get these off you."

Kakashi whimpered, drawing back and trying to get away from Itachi again. Itachi sighed, realizing that this would never work. He would have to wait for Kakashi to trust him…completely. Before he even touched him, Kakashi had to show him that he was ready. Itachi set the key for the chains aside, setting his hands on his knees. "Alright, then," he said evenly. "You come to me when you trust me. Just remember, trust is something that must first be given, and then earned."

Kakashi seemed to ponder this for a moment: his posture relaxed, and the fear began to drain out of his eyes. The terror of before was replaced by a slight curiosity, and then a desperation to be helped. Kakashi waited, though: his fear was still present, and it would take much more than willpower to overcome it. Even so, it would take willpower to start to get over it, and willpower was the catalyst that took over Kakashi's psyche. He seemed to suddenly overcome his fear-he leapt right into Itachi's arms, clutching at his shoulders as much as the tight chains would allow and sobbing uncontrollably. Itachi smiled slightly-Kakashi was his. He unlocked the chains around the jounin's wrists and ankles, and then carefully removed the collar from his neck. Throughout the entire process, Kakashi remained as close to Itachi as possible, crowding closer as chains were removed and seeking nothing but affection from Itachi. "Alright, alright," Itachi hushed, gently raising a hand to pet Kakashi's hair. Kakashi, having his face buried in Itachi's shoulder, didn't notice Itachi's movement-he started when he felt the hand in his hair. He froze for a moment, and even his sobbing ceased for a moment. Then, his cries redoubled, and Itachi didn't even know why. He wasn't hurting Kakashi, was he? Itachi gently ran his hand through Kakashi's hair, whispering condolences to him and trying to find out what was wrong.

"Don't hit me."

The first words Itachi managed to coax out of the jounin, and it was a plea not to be beaten?! Whatever Pein did to him, it screwed him up pretty bad…

"Alright, calm down, Kakashi," Itachi whispered, gently kissing Kakashi's silken locks. "I promise, I won't hurt you. Just calm down, alright? I'm going to take you back up to my apartment, and I'll let you eat something, okay? And then we'll see about bandaging up these wounds. Come on; oh, please stop crying. I have no idea what's wrong, just stop crying, please?"

Kakashi's shoulders still shook with his sobs, but his voice was suddenly hushed. Now, the jounin only cried silently, his sorrow barely contained. Itachi felt like he had just made the situation worse-it was almost as if Kakashi had been ordered to stop, and so, he had. "Did Pein beat it into you not to even cry?" Itachi murmured, gently running his hand through Kakashi's hair. The other was wrapped around Kakashi's arms in a safe, secure, embrace-tight enough to feel Kakashi's sudden lack of movement.

"_Shut up, you worthless spice of shit!"_

_The next cruel strike met his face, and another tearful plea left his lips, only to be silenced by the cold, deafened ears of a truly stone-hearted human. Only Pein could accomplish this level of cruelty, and Kakashi was frightened to death of him. More and more and more, Kakashi was stricken with Pein's cold, unforgiving hand. Occasionally, the breath was choked from his lungs: Kakashi would scratch at Pein's arms, beg and plead not to be killed, and finally, he was released. And then, even then, Pein insisted on violating him, until Kakashi had no tears left to cry-only then did he stop crying, and only then did Pein cease to beat him._

Kakashi shivered, and crowded closer to Itachi, whimpering again. A small nod of the head answered Itachi's question-and also confirmed the Uchiha's darkest fears.

"Come on," Itachi finally whispered, standing up with Kakashi still in his arms. "I need to get you cleaned up."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi sat on the floor of the bathroom, allowing Itachi to examine his brutally abused body, so long as he could keep eating with one hand. Itachi had given the skinny jounin an apple to tide him over until he could get some decent food into him-Kakashi was content to just sit there and eat. He was starving, and wasn't in the mood to move much, either. It seemed every movement caused him pain-it tore at cuts, pulled on abrasions and lacerations, yanked at bruises, and put pressure on broken bones. Itachi was bandaging Kakashi's leg now-even his legs had been cruelly whipped. Itachi knew it was because Kakashi had tried to run. It just wasn't fair to Kakashi, and it actually made Itachi feel slightly bad. He was running a damp cloth over Kakashi's legs, and then smearing ointment over the cuts and wrapping the entire leg in bandages. There just wasn't space between the cuts for a break in the bandages. Finally, the whip lashes stopped at Kakashi's mid thigh-it was good, actually, because he seemed deathly afraid of any contact even relatively close to his horribly abused nether region. Itachi could put up with most physical abuse, and all emotional abuse, but when it came to rape, he drew that invisible line in the sand. Itachi finished Kakashi's legs, and moved on to his arms. He took Kakashi's left arm first; Kakashi was right-handed. He could continue to eat easier while Itachi dealt with him. Itachi took Kakashi's hand in his own, gently turning the arm and trying to find out what the most severe of his injuries was.

Kakashi yelped in fear, and ducked away.

He remained huddled in a corner, whimpering and clutching his hand to his body. He looked on the verge of tears again. Itachi's brow furrowed in confusion; what had he done wrong this time? "Kakashi?" he murmured, trying to get a bit closer to Kakashi. Kakashi, instead, tried to back up even more, whimpering and shaking his head, drawing himself into a ball and trying to protect himself from an unseen danger. Itachi understood immediately and backed off; Kakashi clearly had had some traumatizing experience with someone holding him in the past, and was associating the gesture now with pain. Itachi stepped back, and sat down again, setting aside the medical supplies and waiting for Kakashi, exactly as he had done earlier.

"You come when you're ready," he told the jounin, settling down against the cabinets under the sink and waiting. "I won't force you."

It took less time to get Kakashi to come to him this time.

**A/N: So, yeah, this is going to be M for the flashbacks Kakashi has of his abuse. This fanfic is going to be written in chronological order from when Itachi takes Kakashi for himself to the end, with flashbacks scattered throughout to gradually build a picture of Kakashi's fears and their bases. It may look confusing at first, but it will come together in the end. Review, please!!**


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi was quiet.

That was the very first thing that registered in Itachi's mind after even the first minute of dealing with him. He wouldn't make a sound, no matter what Itachi did or said. Itachi could swear Pein had beat it into Kakashi not even to speak unless absolutely necessary. Still, Kakashi was sweet enough, and he obeyed Itachi's every word. It was startling, and rather disturbing to Itachi, that someone once so proud and unbreakable could be crumpled at his feet now, his only thought to survive to the next day. And if he was lucky, he might get food. Itachi made a mental note to feed Kakashi as much as he could over the next few days; obviously, Kakashi was weak, and he doubted that the jounin could go on for much longer without a significant increase on his diet.

Now was the moment of truth. Itachi had been fighting Kakashi's fear of being touched, mainly because it was interfering with Itachi's ability to get Kakashi in acceptable condition. Now, Kakashi was cowering in a corner, trying to hide from what he thought was going to be a strike. Itachi was just trying to change his bandages.

"Come on," Itachi said, trying to keep the exasperation from his tone. Any aggression in his tone might send Kakashi back down into spiraling tears. "I won't hurt you, I promise. Come on, I need to change those bandages. It's going to get infected, and then I don't even know what we'll have to do. But you need to come to me. I can't force you, otherwise this is going to end badly for everyone. Come on, Kakashi: come here. I won't hurt you, I promise."

Slowly, Kakashi was coming around. The fear in his eyes was lessening, and his trembling had stopped. He had relaxed his posture somewhat-instead of tightly curled into a ball in the corner, he was now sitting almost calmly-but still in the corner. Itachi was sitting, as well, but a few feet away-in front of the toilet. Such an appealing place to be. But, he knew that if he moved, Kakashi would flip out, and they would be back to square one. And square one would take a few more hours to get out of.

As it was, it took another hour to get Kakashi out of the corner. He had been inching closer the entire time, and Itachi had been unable to move. Finally, Kakashi was within touching distance-Itachi didn't even have to extend his arm. His heart began to beat slighter faster with excitement-he could finally have Kakashi in his arms, quiet and submissive to his every whim. That was why he was there, wasn't he? But still, Itachi couldn't quite find it in himself to use Kakashi like that. He had already been through so much…

Kakashi leapt into his arms.

Itachi was taken aback by the sudden movement, and threw up his arms in surprise. Luckily, Kakashi's face was buried in Itachi's shoulder, and so he didn't see anything to scare him. His hands found Itachi's shoulders, and they fisted themselves in the thick fabric of his Akatsuki cloak. Kakashi couldn't do anything but tremble for a moment-all the old fear rushed back at once. Fear of being cast away, fear of being struck, fear of being rejected, fear of thrown to the floor, kicked out of the way, and ignored-

Itachi put his arms around Kakashi's shoulders.

Kakashi froze for a moment, and then simply let it all out in one huge exhale. "See, it's okay," Itachi consoled, gently stroking Kakashi's hair. Kakashi seemed to take to the gesture; he stilled, and even seemed to relax a bit under Itachi's gentle hand, even going as far as to move a bit closer to Itachi's hand to encourage the Uchiha to show him a bit more affection. Itachi had to smile at this; Kakashi hadn't even lifted his head from his shoulder, and still, he was begging for affection. "See? You're fine," Itachi whispered, drawing Kakashi a bit closer and beginning the slow, lengthy process of changing Kakashi's bandages. Kakashi was skittish of everything and anything-he hated being touched, especially around his head, neck, and wrists. Itachi knew the reason; he knew Pein's personality. He didn't even want to get into it right now. All he wanted was for Kakashi to calm down, and maybe even trust him. Talking wouldn't help, he knew. Kakashi couldn't hold a conversation if he tried. He was just too scared. Pein probably got nasty with him when something even came out wrong. Itachi didn't want to think about it, really.

"You okay?" Itachi asked softly, picking up Kakashi's other arm and carefully cutting the bandages off his arm. Itachi slowly and carefully pulled the slightly bloodied bandages away from Kakashi's skin, feeling the small trembles in Kakashi's body from the pain the bandages were causing him. Itachi was happy to see that several of the wounds had closed enough to leave open to air; he didn't want to keep the bandages on too long and risk infection, but there was also the risk of leaving them open while they weren't quite ready to be exposed. Itachi chose carefully which wounds he would leave, and which he would cover, working around each as well as he could. Kakashi was still silent: he was sitting in Itachi's lap, head on the Uchiha's shoulder, leaning against him and seeming just fine right there. At one point, he almost spoke. Itachi could hear the inhale, and Kakashi's mouth opened to say something. Itachi just happened to catch his eye; Kakashi closed his mouth, and lowered his gaze from Itachi's. Itachi supposed that was another forcefully developed habit: avoiding eye contact with anyone and everyone. Itachi ignored it, hoping that not making a big deal would help Kakashi get over it. But, after a few minutes, it became apparent that Kakashi wasn't getting over it without express permission from his master.

"Kakashi," Itachi said softly. "It's okay if you want to say something," he said, hinting at what he had seen earlier. Kakashi shook his head, denying Itachi any semblance of even being able to speak. "I know you want to say something, so just go on and say it," Itachi prodded, taping down the end of the bandages on Kakashi's arm. Now, to move on to his legs…this was the more difficult part. It was probably better not to get Kakashi worked up…well, see what he did, and then move on if it was okay. If not, he would wait a few minutes, and then try again. It would kill Kakashi if he pushed it.

"You know, I learned something very important a while ago," Itachi continued, hoping his own speech might induce a reaction from Kakashi. "It was the day before I killed my family. I didn't really talk to them that much, so I figured I didn't owe them anything now. They were going to die anyway, what did it matter, right? Well, after I had some time to think about what I had done, about a week later, I realized why I felt like something was left unfinished. And, actually, it wasn't that I had left Sasuke alive: no, that had nothing to do with it. You know what I had forgotten to do?"

Itachi paused, allowing Kakashi time to speak if he wished. He garnered no reaction still, so he went on: "I forgot to say goodbye."

Kakashi glanced up at Itachi, but immediately looked away again when he caught Itachi's gaze. "That's it," Itachi said. "It's so simple, and yet, it haunts me to this day. I can't believe I didn't say it."

Itachi abruptly stopped, looking down at Kakashi. For once, the jounin was actually looking at him: looking at him, as if without fear. But, it only lasted a moment. Kakashi looked away again, but much more slowly and tamely this time. Itachi thought it was adorable. He reached down with one hand, gently taking Kakashi's chin in his hands and turning his head to face him again. "What?" he said, smiling slightly. "You really look like you want to say something now…"

Kakashi averted his eyes, and Itachi could swear he was blushing.

"I…I just like hearing your voice…"

Well, that was certainly unexpected…a small hint of inquisition crossed Itachi's face. "Pardon?" he said, carefully pressing Kakashi for more. He allowed the jounin to turn his head away, if he wished. Kakashi immediately returned to Itachi's shoulder, pulling himself back into the Uchiha's lap and settling there quite contentedly. Itachi had to smile at this: Kakashi's innocence and submission might be disturbing on some levels, but on others, it was adorable. Like now.

"I like hearing your voice," Kakashi repeated softly. "It's…it's just nice to listen to. I can't explain it."

Itachi shrugged. "Alright then," he said lightly. "I'll take it." Inside, no matter how stoic he looked on the outside, he was leaping for joy, though. Kakashi had spoken his mind! It was the first time Itachi had ever heard this from the injured jounin, and he hoped dearly it wouldn't be the last. If Kakashi could regain his confidence back, he could maybe talk to Itachi on a regular basis…that would be nice. He had originally gone looking for a slave as a companion.

"Itachi!"

A knock sounded on the door, shortly followed by Itachi's name. Itachi recognized the voice as Kisame, and stood up to let him in. Or, at least, he tried to. He had barely shifted his weight when he was met with a sudden, pleading cry from Kakashi.

"Please, don't!"

Itachi froze, unsure of what Kakashi was referring to. All of a sudden, nothing but fear showed in his eyes. "What's wrong?" Itachi asked, genuinely concerned for Kakashi. A small whimper rose up in the jounin's throat, and he clung to Itachi like there was no tomorrow. "Kakashi? Are you okay-?"

"No!"

Itachi's brow furrowed, and he called over Kakashi's head: "Be there in a minute, in the bathroom!" Then, he returned his attention to Kakashi, repeating: "What's wrong?"

"Kisame was my last master," Kakashi whispered, fisting his hands in Itachi's cloak and burying his face in Itachi's shoulder. Itachi's heart immediately went out to the jounin-he had looked awful after two weeks alone, and Itachi couldn't imagine what Kisame had done to make the wounds last that long.

"Alright," Itachi soothed, putting his around Kakashi. "Sh, sh, sh…calm down. Take a deep breath…I'm not going to make you face him. Now, do you want to hide, or just stay with me?"

Kakashi was shivering with fear; Itachi knew not to ask why. "I don't even want him to know I'm still alive," he whimpered. "B-Because then he'll only try to get me back…he told me he wanted me to die, and that was why he chained me in there. And he told if I ever let anyone know I was there, he would kill me-!"

"Alright, calm down," Itachi hushed, gently stroking Kakashi's hair to try to calm him down. "You're okay, calm down…just stay in here, and keep the door locked. I'll be right back, I promise."

Kakashi seemed like the last thing he wanted to do was let Itachi go, but he knew that the only other thing he didn't want to do was see Kisame. And so, he sank back to the floor, letting go of Itachi and letting the Uchiha walk away. He shut the door and locked it tightly, sitting on the other side of the bathroom and curling up into a ball. He couldn't stop the memories flashing through his mind-memories of Kisame.

_His hands and feet were bound, bloodied and chafed by the ropes cutting into them. His voice cruelly taken by a gag; his sight taken by a blindfold. He could feel Kisame running his hands over Kakashi's body wanting only the shivers of fear it caused. A quick nip to his backside produced a yelp and then a whimper, and Kisame chuckled deep in his chest. He might be enjoying this, but Kakashi wasn't. He couldn't' even plead with Kisame-he had been silenced. Kisame abruptly thrust into him, tearing Kakashi open and releasing blood to flow between his legs. Kakashi's screams were caught and muffled by the gag, only intensified as Kisame came into him again and again. Kakashi could swear he spent hours fucking him, until even Kisame himself was sore. But that didn't stop him. He picked Kakashi up and threw him down on the floor at his feet, ripping off the blindfold and allowing Kakashi to at least see the blows he was dealt. Throughout the entire thing, Kakashi tried to scream, to call for someone to help him: but to no avail. Kisame ignored him anyway._

_Kakashi only remembered being thrown into a wall, but when he awoke, h was chained to a damp stone wall, with long gashes covering his legs. He had tried to run, he remembered now, and Kisame had dragged him down here, chained him, and whipped his legs until they didn't even support his weight anymore. Every slash of the whip cut into his flesh, stinging like a bee's touch, and reminded him brutally of what was being done to him. Kakashi found himself back in Kisame's bed in no time, though, and he could hardly remember anything else._

_After that, Kisame had allowed him five minutes to compose himself, and wipe the tears from his eyes. And then, he was sent to make dinner for the shark. Kakashi wasn't sure how he stood up, what with his bleeding legs and torn entrance. But, somehow, he managed to get up, put on a pair of pants, and make Kisame something to eat. And then, after that, he had to clean all of his blood off the floor…or more of it would be spilled._

_More was spilled anyway. Kisame wasn't happy with him, and collared him. Kakashi learned exactly how much kunai could sting that night._

**A/N: Still working on making you guys cry…next chapter will explain this a little more, and I plan to introduce the true ItaKaka then. So, review!!**


	3. Chapter 3

Itachi went to the door, pausing to hear the reassuring click of the bathroom door closing and locking before opening the door into the apartment. He just hoped Kisame wouldn't need the bathroom. "Kisame," Itachi greeted, in his usual monotone. "Something I can do for you?"

"Just looking for an old mission report," Kisame said. He sounded quite frustrated. "I misplaced my copy, and Pein wants it. Can I have yours?"

Itachi nodded, closing the door after Kisame and wordlessly leading the shark man into the room. Kisame tagged along behind Itachi, following the Uchiha as he made his way into his bedroom. Itachi went over to his desk, situated in the corner of the room, and then opened a drawer. Neatly organized and stacked inside were his mission reports, organized by date. He glanced up at Kisame, seeking a bit more specification. Kisame clearly understood his partner, and supplied, "The one from two months ago, to the Ame."

Itachi nodded again and bent over, rifling through the papers for a moment before pulling one out and handing it to Kisame. "Don't lose it," he warned, "or there will be hell to pay."

Kisame nodded, trying to hide his nervous swallow. Itachi wasn't one to be trifled with, and if he said, "Don't lose it," than you didn't lose it! Kisame wasn't fond of organization. His desk, which was in his front hallway, was overflowing with papers, papers, papers, and more papers. Occasionally, a pen or an envelope jutted out from somewhere random in the seemingly endless pile. Itachi had firsthand witnessed Kisame searching for something, and it usually consisted of just dumping everything on the floor and then digging through it. Occasionally, though, he would enlist the aid of whatever unlucky sod dared cross his path, and then he would split the work. Sometimes, not even that. He would just leave whoever it was alone with the monstrous desk. Itachi swore it was a fire hazard, and then demonstrated with a glorious display of fireballs and pyrotechnics Deidara would be proud of. Kisame had cleaned up his act-but not his desk. Now, he just shoved everything in his closet or whatever drawer would hold it whenever someone came knocking.

"Is that all?"

Kisame nodded, and left the room as quickly as possible. Itachi freaked him out sometimes. Now was one of those times. He left the apartment quickly, and Itachi closed and locked the door behind him-almost the second he was gone. He backtracked to the bathroom, knocking gently on the wood and calling softly, "Kakashi? It's me. Kisame's gone."

A few seconds later, the lock clicked, but the door didn't open. Itachi waited for a moment, then frowned and took the knob in his hand. He turned it, and slowly opened the door, making sure Kakashi wasn't in the way. But, when the door opened fully, he could see that that wasn't the case-not even close. Kakashi was huddled on the other side of the room, curled up in a ball, not moving, and clearly still frightened. He glanced up, startled, as Itachi walked in, and immediately moved to stand up-or kneel. Itachi gently pushed the door closed behind himself, but left it open a fraction of an inch. For Kakashi's sake: Itachi didn't want him to feel trapped. "You okay?" Itachi asked, approaching Kakashi. He made sure to do so slowly, to avoid startling Kakashi. Wow, he was really going out of his way for Kakashi, wasn't he? Well, all in getting the jounin to trust him.

Kakashi nodded slightly, lowering his eyes and waiting for Itachi's permission to speak. But, as his head fell, Itachi caught sight of two sparkling tears trailing down Kakashi's cheek. A stab of pity lanced through his heart, and Itachi found himself kneeling next to Kakashi, reaching out to him and gently wiping the tears from his face with the sleeve of his cloak. Kakashi jerked away at the touch, at first startled and frightened, but Itachi quietly hushed him and took him into his arms, calming Kakashi's trembling with soft touches and gentle words. Kakashi calmed down after a minute, settling in Itachi's lap and curling up against his shoulder.

"Kisame left," Itachi said bluntly. Obviously, it was unnecessary to say so, but it might comfort Kakashi a small bit. Kakashi nodded slightly, slowly raising his arms to wrap themselves around Itachi's neck. He closed his eyes, and buried his face in Itachi's shoulder. Itachi allowed him the freedom to do so, and put his arm around Kakashi's shoulders. "You want to tell me what he did to you?"

Kakashi shook his head, and Itachi could feel the trembling start again. He was afraid he would be hit for his refusal…Itachi could tell Kisame hadn't been kind to Kakashi, seeing the jounin's reaction to his lack therefore of. Itachi sighed, but decided to ease Kakashi's fears.

"Alright," he said, one hand coming up to gently stroke Kakashi's hair. Kakashi visibly shuddered under Itachi's touch, but, after a minute or two of just sitting and having Itachi lavish him with attention, he began to calm again. His trembling stopped, and he was breathing a little easier. Itachi sat with Kakashi for another minute, just letting him calm down, before approaching the topic again. But this time, he came from a different angle.

"Kakashi," he said softly. As expected, Kakashi sat bolt upright, sliding off Itachi's lap and falling to his knees in front of his master. He did not speak, or make a sound of any kind. Instead, he remained utterly silent, waiting on his knees for Itachi's orders with his head bowed and his eyes downcast. Itachi reached out again, taking Kakashi's hand and guiding him back into his arms. "I need to know," he said softly, taking Kakashi's shoulders in his hands and drawing him closer. Kakashi, clearly associating the motion with fear, suddenly whimpered and drew back again Itachi's hold. Itachi instinctively tightened his grip, and insisted Kakashi come closer.

_Kisame took his shoulders in his hands, spun him around, and pressed him into the wall, growling with annoyance. "So much for listening, you little bitch," he snarled, lowering his head to take a firm bite of Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi screamed with the pain of Kisame's sharp teeth sinking into his neck, drawing blood that was quickly licked away. Kisame, none too happy with his slave's vocalized fears, took Kakashi's shoulders again and shoved him to the floor, delivering him a harsh kick along the way. "I told you to shut up!" he screamed, kicking Kakashi again. Tears stung at the backs of Kakashi's eyes as Kisame beat him, but he tried not to move. He knew Kisame would only hurt him more if he tried to escape the punishing blows laid to his body. He could feel ribs cracking under the pressure, and instinctively clutched at his sides. Kisame grabbed his wrists, forcing them apart and pinning Kakashi's hands to the cold, hard floor he lay on._

"_You will obey me," Kisame said, voice shaking with anger. "And you will learn to like it, or you can kiss your sorry life goodbye!"_

_Kakashi wept, even after Kisame was finished with him._

Itachi could see the fear stricken into Kakashi's face, and instantly regretted what he had done. "Kakashi!" he gasped. "I'm so sorry!"

Kakashi bolted backwards as soon as Itachi let go of him, sobbing softly and curling into a ball in the farthest corner he could find from Itachi. Itachi gave a soft sigh of exasperation. But, he wasn't aggravated with Kakashi. He was angrier with himself for making such a stupid mistake. Kakashi's sobs sent a spear of guilt through his heart; Itachi instantly regretted being so thoughtless.

Well, back to square one again. He should have thought, Itachi berated himself. He should have been more aware! But, deep down, Itachi knew that beating himself up wasn't going to get them anywhere. He had to do something if he wanted to help Kakashi. Itachi softly sighed, sitting up slightly and pulling his cloak off his body. He then shifted his weight to his knees, pulling the cloak out from underneath him the rest of the way. Itachi slowly rose to his feet, trying not to scare Kakashi, but to no avail. A small squeak of terror escaped Kakashi's throat, and he scrambled back as far as he could. When he hit the wall again, a broken sob burst free of his mouth. Itachi took a step towards him, trying not to get too close and scare Kakashi even more. Then, he simply leaned over, and placed his cloak around Kakashi's shoulders.

"Come find me when you're ready."

And he left.

Kakashi looked up, stunned, as the heavy cloak hit his body. At first, he recoiled, still fearing whatever move Itachi made would be to hurt him. But, as the footsteps receded, and the door softly closed behind Itachi, Kakashi felt the warmth of the cloak surrounding him. He instinctively reached up, and took the edges of the cloak in his hands, drawing it tighter around his body. Kakashi remained on the floor for at least twenty minutes, simply trying to overcome his fear and just _move._

He was really starting to like Itachi. So far, he had treated him well, and he had tried to get through to him countless times that he wasn't going to hurt him. Still, Kakashi couldn't seem to move past that mental block that dictated that any human he came across was going to hurt him. He supposed it could be attributed to the trauma of being a slave of the Akatsuki, but he had thought he was stronger than this!

For a moment, a shred of the old Kakashi came back. _Damn it! Why am I so weak? I couldn't keep myself from being captured, I couldn't fight back against Pein, or Kisame, or any of them! I couldn't even get up the courage to at least try to escape. Come to think of it, I could have. Several times already. They just put some chains on and left. They didn't even restrain my chakra supply, like they did in the beginning. And now…now, look where I am. Look what I've become. I can't even help myself anymore. I might as well give up._

And then, just as swiftly as it had come, the moment passed.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Itachi started at the sudden pang.

It almost felt like…no. No, it couldn't be. For a moment, Itachi thought that Kakashi had accessed his chakra! Not a chance: not after everything that had been done to him. Drugs, chains, abuse, rape, starvation-Itachi had to stop himself before he started spiraling down some endless pit of depression. Poor thing; he didn't even know he had been drugged, did he? Itachi knew that Kakashi's captors had drugged him while he was either unconscious or asleep (like there was a difference anymore) but he didn't know if Kakashi had figured it out or not. Itachi had made sure to stay away from needles, just in case, but it didn't appear that Kakashi even remembered being drugged. How many times, though? How much? Itachi found himself almost sick as he hunted for something to eat, both for himself and for Kakashi. He was growing increasingly frustrated-again, with himself, for both hurting Kakashi before and for allowing this to happen for so long. Especially when he loved him so much-

Crap. He had just admitted it.

Well, Itachi supposed there was no getting around it now. Now that he had admitted it to himself, it was only a matter of time until someone else outside his mind heard about it, too. Yes, Itachi decided, he may as well say it now, just to be certain: he was in love with Kakashi, and had been ever since he first laid eyes on the man back in ANBU. They were in the locker room, he remembered, and he had seen Kakashi changing out of his ANBU attire into his usual jounin uniform. And, just as that silver outer armor had come off, the skin-tight black undershirt had been revealed, showing off every inch of Kakashi's perfect body. There were many cheesy, over-used analogies, such as the marble statue come to life, and the walking divinity, but none of them seemed to even compare to Kakashi's beauty. Itachi couldn't help but take a good, long look as Kakashi stripped that off, too, and then made himself move on to avoid suspicion. But God, he was gorgeous! Itachi had never seen anything like him. And he had never wanted anyone else so badly.

But how far was he willing to go to get what he wanted?

**A/N: WOW, that was a long hiatus. Anyway, I have no excuse, save for my muse deserting me. Anyway, please review…if you're still here…-sweatdrop-**


	4. Chapter 4

_I see you walking home alone, your face is alive and bright  
But you can't see how weak you really are 'cause I could end it tonight  
It's the feeling you get when you think that someone behind is watching you  
Well I can tell you now, that someone is me and I'm about to make it right_

Itachi had finally managed to get himself under control again. _Damn it, Kakashi!_ _Why do you screw me up so bad? _Itachi sighed, ready to smack himself. What was this, hormones? He wasn't sure if this was what love was supposed to feel like, or if he was just going crazy. It was more than likely that he was losing his mind: all the trauma of past events was bound to catch up with him some time. Now was probably that time. Maybe he just wanted to play the hero: to save someone else from the grief and suffering he'd endured throughout his entire life. What did he want, really? Itachi had never known. He had always just tried to make everybody happy. If no one had yelled at him so far, or told him he was doing something wrong, it was a good day. Itachi had never really had a long-term goal, he supposed: now that he thought about it, did he ever really have a goal to begin with?

Why do you take it all?  
Why do I beg for more?  
I never thought this is how I'd hit the floor  
Why do you take it all?  
Why do I beg for more?  
I never thought this is how I'd hit the floor!!

Kakashi sighed softly, trying to think of what he was going to do next. Obviously, he couldn't hide in here forever. He had to find some way out of here; or, at least, in a figurative sense. This bottomless pit of depression was getting a little old. And now that he knew someone actually cared…well, maybe it was time to move out of his shell a little. But, despite the slightly more encouraging thoughts, Kakashi still couldn't bring himself to move just yet. The shock was still set firmly in his mind; someone would probably come and find him later. But, until that time came, he would just try to relax a little. So much stress…it couldn't possibly be healthy.

He blamed Kisame.

I creep up from behind, touch your neck, move down your spine  
Take a look and breathe so sharp  
Just a matter of time  
Don't scream I ask of you, but then you let one out and now it's time to go  
I come down on you like a ton of brick  
All over so it's time to go

A soft sigh escaped his throat. Itachi slumped over the counter, bracing his hands on the edge and leaning back. What was going through Kakashi's mind right now? Was he remembering all the cruelties he had suffered? Was he wondered how long it would be until Itachi, too, turned on him and hurt him? Was he trying to think of a way to escape? Itachi cursed himself for being so selfish. He could just set Kakashi free, and let him try to recover. Maybe it wasn't too late. But no. He had to have him for himself. Itachi shook his head sadly. He was really risking Kakashi's health and sanity, here.

Itachi slowly picked himself up, moving back towards the bathroom. He had to know. He had to at least try to get Kakashi to trust him. But Itachi found that the closer he came to his lover, the farther away it seemed to be. Why? Why didn't Kakashi ever fight back? Why did he just…let these people walk all over him? He could at least try to save himself! It was like he had completely given up! Itachi slowly reached out, setting his hand on the doorknob and taking a deep breath. He didn't know why he was the one who was nervous-he wasn't the one who had just been through months of torture.

Why do you take it all?  
Why do I beg for more?  
I never thought this is how I'd hit the floor  
Why do you take it all?  
Why do I beg for more?  
I never thought this is how I'd hit the floor  
Hit the floor!!

Kakashi finally worked up his nerve. He had to talk to Itachi. He had to know what Itachi's take on all of this was. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, holding the cloak closed over his body. He cautiously placed his hand on the doorknob, almost expecting it to be searing hot. That was one tactic he had experienced before to keep him in: heating the doorknob. Pein had done it once: the one and only time Kakashi had ever disobeyed him. He had been locked in Pein's room for weeks, and the only time he had ever tried to even touch the doorknob, he had found it so hot that his hand was still scarred from the encounter-the encounter that was months ago. Kakashi tried to turn the doorknob-

Why do you take it all?  
Why do I beg for more?  
I never thought this is how I'd hit the floor  
Why do you take it all?  
Why do I beg for more?  
I never thought this is how I'd hit the floor  
Hit the floor!!

Itachi opened the door, and a startled squeak met him. He caught sight of Kakashi on the other side, looking absolutely terrified, frozen in place. He released the doorknob as if burned, and took a shaky step back. Itachi could hear Kakashi's harsh, unsteady breathing, and almost swore he was going to collapse.

"It's alright," Itachi said softly. "Did I startle you?"

Kakashi hesitated, and then nodded. Itachi's face softened; even his red eyes suddenly looked less threatening. He took a step forward, meeting Kakashi in the room. He gathered the Konoha-nin into his arms, feeling his body shaking with fear as he did so. "I promise, I won't hurt you," Itachi whispered, raising a hand to stroke Kakashi's silky hair. But still, the trembling didn't stop. It didn't even slow down.

Take this for me, I don't wanna hurt you!  
Take this for me, I don't wanna hurt you!

"What's wrong?" Itachi whispered, placing a soft kiss in the middle of Kakashi's silver hair.

Kakashi shivered one last time, and then lifted his head from Itachi's shoulder. "I-I wanted to ask you something," he said, voice soft and subdued. "May I?"

"Of course," Itachi said incredulously. "You can always talk to me."

_That's what Pein said. Right after he raped me. And then I asked him why he did it, and he beat the crap out of me. _As much as Kakashi wanted to say this to Itachi, he couldn't bring himself to so much as open his mouth. The terror of Pein, Kisame, and others still reigned supreme in his mind. Instead, he asked, "What do you think…about what you know Pein has done to me?"

Itachi sighed softly, and Kakashi's heart immediately began to beat faster. _Oh, now I've done it, _he thought to himself, taking a step back and fighting Itachi's embrace. Itachi's arms tightened around him, simply from instinct, and Kakashi felt tears well up in his eyes. _No! No, not you! Please, no! You were the only one who was ever kind to me! You were the only one I ever wanted to have me! You-…I loved you! When you came and took me, I wanted to give myself to you completely. Don't take me if I can't give myself to you! Please, don't-!_

"Kakashi!"

Kakashi realized, all of a sudden, that he had just said everything out loud.

His heart skipped a beat, leapt into his throat, and then plummeted into his stomach. His stomach dropped to his intestines. His intestines slithered down to his feet. His vision began to black in, fading out from the edges of his vision and poisoning the rest of his sight with sickly black tendrils of darkness that threatened to overcome him completely. Kakashi felt his knees give out-he reached out to Itachi, pleading with him to spare him-

Itachi reached out immediately as he saw Kakashi start to fall. He could tell that nothing but fear was on Kakashi's mind right now, and he was about to faint from it. Itachi hurriedly pulled Kakashi up against his body, supporting most of his weight himself. He immediately lifted Kakashi's face to his own, claiming his lips in a passionate kiss. Kakashi's mere presence calmed him; he loved the feel the jounin struggling beneath him, trying to pull himself up to meet Itachi fully. The soft tingle of Kakashi's mouth under his brought a charge to Itachi that he could never get enough of.

"I've loved you," he whispered, between desperate kisses. "I always have. Don't think I'm going to hurt you: please, don't look at me with terror. It breaks my heart that you would fear me. I don't want you to fear me: I want you to love-" He kissed him again, clutching at Kakashi's lithe body and pulling him as close as possible. Kakashi, it seemed, couldn't get enough of Itachi, either: his hands clutched weakly at Itachi's shoulders, seeking purchase on the half-fishnet shirt Itachi was wearing.

"Take me," he whispered. "Show them I belong to you! They can't touch me if you have me-!"

"I can't hurt you," Itachi whispered, but stole another kiss all the same. "I know I'll hurt you." Another kiss. "I'll lose control-I'll hurt you." Another, desperate, longing kiss. "Don't make me hurt you."

Kakashi pulled Itachi down to him, silencing his words. He couldn't even think about the repercussions: he just wanted Itachi. If Itachi had him the way he wanted him to, no one else was allowed to even touch Kakashi. Kakashi wanted that assurance: and, he wanted Itachi to acknowledge him as his lover. He wanted Itachi to prove those words he spoke: he wanted to feel like someone was making love to him, not just having another pointless fuck.

"You won't hurt me," Kakashi whispered. "I promise. I'm always ready for you; I couldn't ever be hurt by you. Please, Itachi-sama, I need this-"

"Why do you need me to have sex with you to prove my love?" Itachi whispered, beginning to trail kisses down Kakashi's neck. Kakashi threw his head back, moaning softly and begging Itachi for more. His hot breath flowed over Kakashi's skin like liquid nitrogen, burning slightly where it touched. But it was a good burn: a pleasant, tingling sensation, like every nerve in his body had come to life. Kakashi wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck, feeling the Uchiha's hands run down his body. Itachi's touch brought with it the fire of passion, the waters of desire, the winds of love-

"Please," Kakashi gasped, picking up one leg and wrapping it around Itachi's waist. "I love you! They can't touch me if you take me: please, don't let them touch me!"

"I won't," Itachi said softly, kissing down on Kakashi's shoulder. A soft, high-pitched whimper rose in Kakashi's throat as Itachi kissed down repeatedly on that spot, just above his collarbone, the one that made him go crazy-no one else had ever discovered that he loved to be kissed there. No one else had bothered to try to find what made him happy. Oh, but if the had just let Kakashi come to them at his own pace-! He would have allowed them to love him, if they had just been fair with him! Kakashi tangled his fingers in Itachi's hair, pleading silently with the Uchiha to take him. Itachi refused again, but made up for it by sinking his canine teeth into Kakashi's shoulder. A strangled cry rose from Kakashi's throat, breaking through his mouth and passing through his soft, kiss-swollen lips. Itachi sucked at the wound, making it sting as blood rose to the surface. A series of gentle licks cleaned the blood away, but Kakashi could still feel the trickles of blood running down his chest. Itachi let these go for a moment, only to catch them again and trace the red paths back to the wound. Kakashi whimpered again, and it broke Itachi's heart. In one smooth move, he swept away from Kakashi, breaking all contact with him completely and leaving them both standing there, panting.

"Love," Itachi whispered, taking Kakashi in his arms again. "You're beautiful," he started. "You're stunning, you're gorgeous, you're amazingly appealing and undoubtedly the best lover I will ever have-but I can't hear you cry like that. It breaks my heart." Itachi wrapped his arms around Kakashi's shoulders, feeling the metallic sting of blood on his tongue. "I can't hurt you like this. But now, at least, you bear my mark. I swear it to you, until I can love you like I want to, without fearing I will hurt you even more, I won't let them anywhere near you." Itachi gently kissed Kakashi's forehead, brushing aside his silky hair and placing his blood-stained lips firmly on his lover's porcelain skin. "That's a promise."

Sealed with a kiss.

**A/N: So, some steam for ya. Well, this chapter came out a lot quicker, as promised, and I think I have my muse back!! :D Please review, and let me know what you think. Song is Hit the Floor, by Bullet for my Valentine.**


	5. Chapter 5

Kakashi sat with Itachi, completely free of whatever fear had gripped him before. The two of them sat on the couch, Kakashi curled up in Itachi's arms. The Uchiha heir sat with his legs stretched out along the sofa, leaning back against the arm. Kakashi was sitting against the back, somehow managing to wedge himself in. He appeared to be sleeping, with his head on Itachi's shoulder and his hands around Itachi's neck. Itachi had one arm wrapped around Kakashi's shoulders, the other resting possessively on the Hatake's hip. Kakashi couldn't deny that he liked Itachi getting so protective of him: it showed that he actually cared about him. And, to Kakashi's delight, it also showed that he wanted Kakashi. Itachi gazed tranquilly at his sleeping lover, before leaning over and placing a soft kiss on his milky white skin. He was so pale! How did he even get such perfect, beautiful smooth skin? Itachi envied Kakashi, despite his own clear, pale skin. His raven hair, free for once of its ponytail, lay entangled with Kakashi's silver locks, blurring the line between light and dark. His cloak lay across the armchair next to the couch, leaving Itachi only clothed in his tight, half fishnet shirt and shinobi pants. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the cloak, anyway. Itachi was considering mirroring Kakashi's actions (or lack thereof) and just take a nap. His ruby eyes were just sliding closed when someone knocked on his door. Itachi sighed roughly, rather disgruntled at being interrupted. "Who is it?" he called.

"Konan!" the person on the other side answered. Itachi decided it was safe enough to let her in without getting up…

"It's open!" he called, slowly trying to make himself get up. He gently shook Kakashi, trying to get the other male to wake up. Kakashi whimpered slightly, squeezing his eyes shut against the force of consciousness. "Come on, get up," Itachi whispered, pulling Kakashi fully from the realms of dreams. Kakashi finally opened his eyes, although clearly not happy about it, and glanced at Itachi once as he finally came to the waking world. Kakashi slowly sat up as the door to the apartment opened, yawning innocently, and Itachi smiled at the sight. As Kakashi's lips parted, though, Itachi caught sight of something rather unusual. Kakashi's top canine teeth were the smallest bit longer and more tapered than any normal human's. They almost looked like dog's canine teeth…

"What's this?" Itachi asked, sitting up and gently tapping the side of Kakashi's mouth. "Fangs? What, and you never bothered to bite back?"

Kakashi smiled softly, but shook his head. The movement sent sprays of liquid silver everywhere, and Itachi almost lost it right then and there. The only thing stopping him from taking Kakashi right then and there was the fact that Konan was currently standing right behind him.

"Hello, Konan," he said, standing up to greet Pein's partner. The kunoichi smiled softly at him, and then turned her gaze to Kakashi. She seemed surprised to see him; as soon as her eyes fell upon him, her entire face seemed to light up.

"Kakashi!" she cried, brushing Itachi aside and practically running over to Kakashi. "Oh, darling, you're still alive! Oh, thank God Itachi found you: oh, you poor thing, you're finally away from him! I'm so happy for you!" Konan sat down on the sofa next to Kakashi, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "Oh, he's too sweet for this," Konan gushed, releasing Kakashi. She turned to Itachi, and finally offered some explanation: "When Kakashi first came, and Pein had him, I was really the only other person Kakashi had contact with. Sometimes, when he would get hurt really bad, I would come into Pein's room and find him crying. I would heal him, and just try to make him feel a little better. Slip him a little food and water, so he didn't starve to death. Poor thing. He really doesn't deserve this. I loved him to death, this one, but when Pein et him go, I thought he was dead. Then he resurfaced again, under Hidan. And then Kakuza. And then Sasori. Sasori treated him fairly well, I think, but he still wasn't exactly nice to him. I think the only thing he refrained from was rape, and he's got Deidara for sex. Dei will do it willingly, too, so it hardly mattered to Sasori."

"He fed me on a regular basis, too," Kakashi mumbled, dropping his eyes to the floor. Itachi wordlessly went over, and wrapped his arms around Kakashi. The silver-haired Konoha-nin leaned back, into Itachi's embrace, and put his head down against Itachi's shoulder.

"And then, Kisame got a hold of him." Konan sighed, shaking her head, as if she were trying to rid herself of the memory. "When I first heard, I thought it was a joke. As Kakashi can tell you, Kisame was the worst possible person to have as your slave driver. He was just…ugh. I can't even say it. I might be arrested. But, anyway, he was thee for…how long, baby? A month? Two?"

"A day with Kisame as one's master is like ten years in the real world."

Konan and Itachi both felt their hearts crumple. Konan, however, showed it in her face. Itachi simply tightened his embrace, kissing Kakashi's cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered, raising a hand and stroking Kakashi's silver hair. He loved the jounin's hair: it was so silky, so beautiful, even after everything Kakashi had been through. It was almost like his skin: still so pale and beautiful and flawless and spotless and perfect, despite his ordeal. Itachi could swear he was angel, what with his personality and his looks. He was beautiful beyond all compare, and he was the sweetest creature Itachi had ever encountered. Only the puppy who had followed him home when he was five could ever even begin to counter this.

"And then he just…disappeared…" Konan shook her head again, harder this time, as if shaking her head hard enough could dispel the memory. "I assumed Kisame had finally up and put him out of his misery." Konan then leaned forward, brushing her fingertips against Kakashi's cheek. "But I'm glad he didn't." She smiled softly, and laid her palm against the side of Kakashi's face. "You're beautiful, darling, and you don't deserve this. I don't care what anybody says. Itachi will teat you well, I'm sure. You've already put on some weight, your eyes are brighter-oh, Itachi, thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found him in time." Konan's hand fell from Kakashi's face, and she took one of Itachi's hand sin her own. "Do please treat him well. Love him like no other. God knows he needs it. Just see how beautiful he is, no matter how hard they beat him, and keep him in your prayers. This lost little angel needs to get back to God." Konan placed a soft kiss On Kakashi's cheek, and then stood up, letting Itachi's fine-boned hand slide from hers. "And no," she said, "I most certainly do not believe Pein is God." Itachi smiled softly at her words: they gave him the hope both he and Kakashi had been decidedly lacking for a very long time.

"Speak of the devil…does he know?"

"About Kakashi?" Itachi asked, trying to affirm Konan's question. At Konan's nod, Itachi shook his head. "No, he doesn't know. And thank God for that."

Konan smiled. "Good," she said. "Let's keep it that way. Does anyone else know?"

"No," Itachi replied. "And, again, let's keep it that way."

Konan nodded. "Agreed," she said. "Oh, if only you knew how many of these people wanted him…"

"Oh, I do know," Itachi scoffed. "For starters, you just told me. If you hadn't, Kakashi did. And if he didn't, he would eventually. And even if he didn't, I knew it already. We aren't exactly a group of missionaries collecting spare change on the streets to supply water to some third world country in Africa."

Konan flat-out laughed at this. "In so many words," she said. "And a lot of words there were! Alright, several bad puns later…"

"We will all be ready to hurt each other because we are just that terrible," Itachi supplied. "We all suck."

"We all suck ass, are you kidding?" Konan grunted. "You killed your entire family and now possess a rare form of progressive eye failure disease because of over usage of your terrifying bloodline, all of this occurring at, what, thirteen? Pein slaughtered an entire village single-handedly, annihilated an entire governmental system, uses six or seven different bodies since I can never keep track, appointed himself a god, and now seeks to rule the world through a crazy/genius plan that will probably get us all killed. Sasori turned his entire body into a puppet with the exception of a soup can in his chest that contains his heart and a little blood, and can wield a hundred puppets at once for it. Deidara is a pyrotechnic with a flare for bombs and flying chocobos on drugs who has mouths in his hands and one prosthetic eye. Zetsu has a plant growing off his body and…well, frankly, we don't know what Zetsu did. But he's a cannibal. That alone pretty much gets you in. Kisame is a flippin' shark who fled his village after failing an attempt to overthrow his government and establish himself a couple other physcos as leaders and joining a nefarious organization that pretty much hires themselves out as assassins. I can turn my entire body into paper. Tobi…Tobi did crack as a child, and is now permanently screwed up. He probably thinks he's destined to become a juice box when he grows up. We don't even know how he got in. Yeah, we are all just one big walking freak show."

Itachi was almost in tears by the time Konan had finished her rant. Kakashi was surprised; Itachi had never laughed once in the entire time he had known him, and now he was dying on the floor of laughter! Kakashi giggled slightly, and moved out of Itachi's way. The Uchiha looked like he could explode at any second. Kakashi decided, though, that he had a very nice laugh: it was like listening to a range of mediumly-tuned bells as they chimed against one another in the summer breeze. Kakashi was, however, inclined to laugh at the fact that there were tears streaming down Itachi's face; he looked like he could just burst into a million pieces at any second. Finally, though, he managed to get himself under control, and slowly sat up, still clutching at his sides from the vicious cramp he had received as a result of his enthusiastic laughter.

"Oh, God, Konan, you did _not_ just go there!"

Konan shrugged, grinning ear to ear. "What if I did?" she asked, spreading her arms and shifting her weight to lean forward at Itachi. "What're ya gonna do, you crazy kid? Shoot me with a spitball?"

"I might just take you up on that," Itachi said, returning the smile. "Be careful at dinner time."

"Pein might just eat you for dinner if you did that."

"Not if he thinks it was Hidan."

Konan smiled. "Ah, yes, let's get the little bugger back," she said, a harsher edge creeping into her voice. "He's been mean to Kakashi, and plus, no one likes him. He's such hormonal bitch. He swears all the time, he's always attacking people by attacking himself, and he thinks he's cool. I say we knock him down a little."

"So, I sit next to him, shoot Pein with a spitball, and then finger Hidan?"

Konan smiled, and sat down next to Kakashi again. "Ah, you're right," she said. "Impossible." She set her elbows on her knees and laced her fingers together, staring straight ahead. Her blue eyes were largely unfocused, as if she were staring at something far beyond even the living realm. "What are we doing?" she said abruptly, unclasping her hands and turning to Itachi. "I mean, have you ever thought about it? What happens when all this is said and done? What then? After we help Pein take over the world, then what? What are we going to be doing, where will we be going, who will we be seeing, what will we be striving for after that? Will we have new goals, new things to focus on, new accomplishments to strive for? We would have to spend our lives on the run, since no village will ever want us-we will all have hurt each and every village in some way. And we can't go to Orochimaru-he's got a grudge, too. So…now what? We're at crossroads now, and we have to choose. We can either just roll with this until the day we die, or we can…I dunno. Just try to make a new life while we can. So now, the question is: what hell do we do?"

Itachi found that he didn't have the answer.

All he cared about was the silver-haired angel sitting at his side.

**A/N: Aw, fluff…review, please.**


	6. Chapter 6

Konan sighed softly, standing up from the couch. "Hey, I gotta go," she said slowly, stretching her arms up over her head. "Nice talking with you, great to see Kakashi, and I really hope you can keep him a secret."

Itachi smiled in return, and pulled Kakashi into his arms. "He's quiet," he said. "I should have no problem."

Kakashi leaned against Itachi and said nothing. Konan finished stretching, and huffed out all her pent-up breath. "Alright, well, I'm out," she said, turning and heading for the door. "Before Pein comes looking for me. Knowing him, he would. Broke his own rib with a different body and needs me to heal the punctured lung." Konan rolled her eyes, and stepped away from the couch. "I hate it when he does that."

"What do I do?"

The door slammed open, and Konan stopped dead.

"Crap ain't got shit on this," Itachi muttered. Kakashi blushed, and slipped back, away from Itachi, trying to slouch down enough to hide himself. But the damage was done; Pein had seen him. His eyes narrowed in ager; he strode heavily into the room, his long legs covering the distance easily. Itachi stood up, and moved protectively in front of Kakashi; Konan positioned herself in front of Itachi. Pein carelessly shoved her aside; the kunoichi stumbled, but kept her feet. Itachi, too was pushed back, but Pein shoved him hard enough to send him flying back and land on the floor on his rear. Kakashi shrank back, visibly trembling. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid! He couldn't ever go back to Pein, or Kisame. Not ever! Pein advanced on Kakashi, gray eyes looking like thunder clouds. Konan watched helplessly, frozen to the spot, as Pein towered over Kakashi. Itachi found his breath catching in his chest; his lips parted slightly as he forgot to breathe, and then suddenly sucked in a deep, coughing breath again. He forced himself to his feet, not bothering with the fact that Pein hadn't even blinked his way. He readied himself to move if anything happened, knowing Pein's demeanor. He simply didn't know. Pein was, in no way, predictable.

"Kisame told me you were dead."

_Get away! Run away, fly away!__  
__Lead me astray to dreamer's hideaway!__  
__I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more;__  
__I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world!__  
__Forgive me-__  
__I have but two faces:__  
__One for the world,__  
__One for God;__  
__Save me!__  
__I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more;__  
__I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world!_

To his credit, Kakashi answered bravely, his voice barely shaking. "He lied."

Pein snickered slightly with laughter, and turned to Itachi. "And I owe the pleasure of seeing this miserable brat alive to you?" he sneered, addressing Itachi. The Uchiha slowly took a deep breath, just trying to control himself.

"He's hardly a miserable brat, as you so charmingly put it," Itachi said coldly, fighting the urge to take a step forward. The atmosphere was deceptively calm; Pein looked completely relaxed, like he wasn't even tempted to move. Itachi's nerves sang with the desire to step up and just deck that sucker right across the face. He knew he couldn't do that, though: he couldn't give Pein the satisfaction of seeing how rattled and upset he really was, or of seeing him lose control. Itachi had to rub it in his face that he was perfectly in control of himself, and would not let his personal emotions and grudges get in the way of this little disagreement being settled. If Itachi lost it, then Pein pretty much reserved the right to punish him however he deemed it necessary. He might hurt Itachi, or worse, Kakashi. Itachi could take a punch; he wasn't sure if Kakashi could. Sure he could physically: he had taken pretty much anything, and escaped fairly without long-term harm. But emotionally, he might not be able to take even the smallest of hits. Itachi's fists clenched, and then unclenched. He fought to relinquish such tight control over his muscles. He couldn't even let Pein see even a hint of his true emotions.

"Might I ask why?"

Itachi sucked in another deep breath, but this one came through his nose. "I was looking for a companion slave," he said, "and I happened upon him. We knew each other from the past…and he only had a few days left to live."

Pein chuckled darkly. "That explains it," he said softly. "Kisame said he had starved to death refusing to eat, and that he had cleared the body himself."

"He didn't have a choice," Itachi said sharply. "Kisame got tired of him, and just left him chained up down there, still bleeding from wounds inflicted days ago, without any food or water, and just left him to die. He figured no one cared about him." Itachi's back straightened, and he felt proud when he answered: "That fish sticks bastard was wrong."

Pein seemed untouched by the story. "Well, I suppose he was," he said, sounding rather bored. "Anyway, I hope you have this officially done, otherwise, he goes back to Kisame."

Itachi's heart leapt into his throat. What, there was paperwork now?! This was disgusting. He was listening to Pein try to make Kakashi a piece of property. It was simply revolting. "Ask the guard on duty," he said smoothly, his calm voice betraying the nervousness that truly resided in his heart. In reality, he was as close to freaking out as an Uchiha would ever come. "He told me he would take care of it." Well, it was half true…maybe Pein would buy it.

"I don't believe you."

Shot down.

"Of course you don't," Itachi muttered. "Go ask him, he said he would take care of it. If he didn't, isn't that his problem, not mine?"

Pein raised a single brow, piercings on it jingling ominously. "I never got word of it," he said. "And he is in your possession. That _makes _it your problem."

"I got it!"

Itachi's gaze swung around to Konan, surprised that she would outright lie to Pein. Or was she lying? Itachi was ninety nine percent sure she was. If she was, God help her. The real God, not Pein. Egotistical idiot…his head was way too big for his own good. Konan stepped closer to Pein, stopping when she was squarely in front of Kakashi. Pein instinctively stepped away from the woman, giving her room. Konan's fingers flicked out and back again, and she gently nudged Kakashi towards Itachi. The silver-haired jounin took this as his cue, and immediately slipped past Pein. The orange haired leader of the Akatsuki turned, as if to stop him, but Itachi reached out, and took Kakashi's hand. Konan spoke again, further diverting Pein's attention.

"I have all the paperwork. I didn't know it was supposed to get to you. I thought if just one of us had it, it was enough."

Pein's brow arched again, and he folded his arms across his chest. Itachi knew the excuse was believable; Konan rarely, if ever, dealt with what she labeled as "the most despicable, heinous, outrageous," practice in the entire Akatsuki: the use of prisoners as personal servants. Whenever she did deal with it, it was rescuing whoever was worst off at that point in time. She really wouldn't know much about it at all. Pein knew this; he should buy this one, at least.

"Show me."

Konan didn't miss a beat. "Sure," she said. "If I can find it. It's in my room, somewhere, probably in my desk…"

Pein nodded, and swiftly exited the room. He seemed to glide across the floor; it was as if his feet never touched the ground to begin with. His smooth, long steps brought him to the door, which promptly slammed after his leaving. Konan whipped around to face Itachi again, after watching her superior depart.

"I estimate you have about fifteen minutes," she hissed, in case anyone was listening. "Get him out of here! I don't know how long I can hold him!"

Itachi nodded, and gently guided Kakashi to the couch. "Stay," he said firmly, and bolted into his bedroom. Kakashi, by now, was deep in shock, and wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Konan ran into the kitchen, and got a glass from the top shelf of one of the cabinets. She filled it with tap water, and walked back into the sitting area. She handed Kakashi the glass, and supported his hand as he drank. "Long, slow sips," she advised, gently guiding his hand. "If you throw up, that kind of totally defeats the purpose."

Kakashi nodded, and did as she said. Itachi emerged from the room with his spare Akatsuki cloak, two scrolls tied together with a red braided rope, and a scratched ninja headband. "Put this one," he said, thrusting the cloak and headband at Kakashi. Kakashi looked confused, but quickly did as Itachi said. Itachi handed the scrolls to Konan.

"These are fakes," he said. "Use them, and use them wisely. I went through hell and high water to get these, and they're the best you'll ever find. Also, this should inhibit Pein's rain ability for a while if he touched them. Just keep them tied together, and handed them to him. He has to touch them to get them apart. It should work. I'm heading for Konoha. Tell him I broke the window, and ran for Otoga."

"Otoga?" Konan gasped. "Why there?! Why would you want to go where Orochimaru is? You've got no motivation!"

"Yes, I do," Itachi said, drawing a knife from his kunai pouch. "If I run to Orochimaru, he'll take me into his village without question. And I'll have fairly good protection from the Akatsuki."

"But you've beaten Orochimaru!" Konan protested, still not understand Itachi's plan. "And Pein's stronger than you! Even Orochimaru and his best ninja combined couldn't protect you from Pein!"

"Not if it came to a fight," Itachi said, hurling the kunai at the window. "But Orochimaru is very good at hiding. Going to Otoga is a much more logical alternative than going to Konoha. Konoha would reject me soundly, take me into custody, and execute me for my crimes. Either that, or just put up a sign that says, 'Hey, Pein! Guess who we've got!'" Itachi watched with satisfaction as the window shattered, and pulled his sleeve back. He slowly dragged the back of his hand against one of the shards of glass protruding from the window pane, cutting it cleanly. He then smeared some of his blood on the rest of the glass, the pane, and the outside wall. He let a few drops fall down below, and one or two inside the room. "That should convince him," he muttered, carefully healing the scratch with what rudimentary healing he had. "If this bleeds again, I'm in trouble," he said. "Kakashi, your dogs."

"What about them?" Kakashi asked.

"Summon one right now!"

Kakashi hurriedly formed a few hand signs, and nipped at the skin of his thumb. He slammed his palms into the floor, and suddenly, a huge German Shepherd dog appeared, wagging her tail. She leapt at her master and repeatedly licked his face, tail waving fast enough to become a blur to the naked eye. "Get your scent on that cloak," Itachi said. "These cloaks hold scent well, that's why I had you put it on. And the headband, took. Then, give those to your dog, and have her run them as far away as possible. Pein has tracking animals, too." Itachi stripped off his own cloak and headband, putting them down on the floor next to the dog. "She can take both of ours; we would never split up." Kakashi nodded swiftly, and handed both of the cloaks and headbands to his dog. He spoke to her in soft whispers, gently scratching behind her ear the entire time. Then, he sat back a bit and whispered, "Go." The dog ran off, out the door Konan was holding open. Konan exited shortly after the dog, chasing down the halls to hold Pein where he was. She took the scrolls with her, sliding them up her sleeve to hide them until she could plant them in her room. Itachi helped Kakashi to his feet, and then pulled him towards the door.

"As fast as you've ever run."

Chakra flared, and the two Sharingan users took off.

**A/N: Boom. Meh, no excuse for the lateness this time. Just no muse. Again, I know, right? Well, reviews would be nice…just let me know you're still there so I actually finish this story. T_T**


	7. Chapter 7

Rain.

Itachi cursed their bad luck. Barely a half an hour into their journey, he had felt the first droplets on his arms and shoulders. He had no way of knowing if it was Pein's rain or just natural rain, but either way, he couldn't stop running. Kakashi, to his credit, was bravely trying to run as fast as he could, using his freshly-unlocked chakra to do so. Itachi let Kakashi choose the pace, always keeping the smallest bit in front of him to encourage him to run faster. The rain had slowly began a steady drizzle, and then a drenching downpour. Itachi knew they were shot as soon as he had felt the first drop, but he was wondering if he could outrun Pein. Probably not, but hey, he had the lead. He might as well get as far as he could. The closer they were to Konoha, the better.

Thunder rolled.

"He's angry."

Itachi glanced back at Kakashi's soft whisper. "How do you know?" he asked slowly.

"Whenever he was angry, it would rain," Kakashi said. "And it would always be a thunder-and-lightning storm. But it would also rain when he was sad, or depressed. But then it would just be a miserable, clammy drizzle. When he's angry, the entire sky opens up."

Itachi shook his head slightly, knocking his wet bangs out of his face. "What else do you know?" he pressed.

"Not much," Kakashi admitted. "Everything I do know, I just learned from observation. Whenever he was angry, he wouldn't even speak. He would just ignore people, unless they spoke. Then, he punched you. And then just moved on. And when he was depressed, you wouldn't even see him. He would just sneak off, and not even Konan knew where he was. But he's always at the center of the storm. It stems from him. Where the storm is strongest, you'll find him."

"What else?"

"He can move the storm, and use it to find people."

"Obviously. Tell me something I don't know!"

"I don't know what you don't know!"

Itachi exhaled slowly through his nose, trying to maintain his composure. Panicking didn't suit him. He had to keep a cool head, and not scare Kakashi. "Sorry," he said softly. "I'm just stressed right now. How much farther until we hit the gates?"

"Another, like, twelve hours. And that's without stopping. It takes about a day and a half to get from Akatsuki to Konoha."

Itachi sighed again. "We'll never make it," he muttered. "Is there any way to outrun him?"

"Can you outrun the wind?"

"Sometimes."

"Then there's your answer."

Itachi wracked his brain, trying to think of a solution. Any solution would do, really! Just some way to get out of this damn rain would do…if he was dry, Pein wouldn't be able to find them. One drop of his water, and they were damned. Itachi began glancing around, searching for a cave or a hollow tree. They needed to hide now, until the storm passed. "Can he tell the difference between a clone and real body?"

"I don't know."

Itachi growled softly. "I was thinking of sending a few off the other way," he murmured. "But, somehow, I get the feeling that won't work." Itachi shook his wet hair out of his face again. He was miserable, now: the driving rain penetrated his every defense soaking his clothes, and then his skin, and chilling him to the bone. Pein was one hell of a sadist, he decided, as if it hadn't been apparent before. Itachi was tired of dealing with the man, however. He was going to get hell from him if he made it back alive…

"What are you thinking about?"

Kakashi had come up squarely beside him as they leapt from tree to tree, perfectly keeping pace with him and gazing at him with one of the sweetest, genuinely concerned faces Itachi had ever seen. His heart melted at the sight, and he was stuck pondering, once again, how Pein-or, hell, anybody-could possibly bring himself or herself to hurt this angelic creature before him. "Just…worrying about you," he finally said, emotionless face turned down, away from the rain. Kakashi's soft smile caught the corner of his eye just before the smallest of kisses was laid upon his cheek.

"Don't," Kakashi admonished. "I'm fine."

Itachi felt a soft snort touch his nose. "Not if Pein catches up with us," he reminded him. He caught Kakashi's crestfallen look, however, and reached over to take the jounin's hand. "It's alright," he said, in a much softer tone. "I appreciate the effort." He returned Kakashi's swift kiss, offering him a gentle smile. Kakashi seemed much happier after that, and he and Itachi continued to race with Hermes.

OOOOOOOOO

Pein's hands came down heavily on the table. "Damn it!"

Konan glanced up him with a raised brow. "What?" she asked in a bored, uninterested tone. Pein whipped around and glared at her.

"You know what," he snarled, a deadly sneer lifting his upper lip. "Don't play dumb with me, you deliberately held me up so those two had time to run! And I just found them, now several hours later, and they're halfway to Konoha! You had something to do with it, I know you did!"

Konan shrugged absently, filing her nails and barely participating in the conversation. "Whatever you say." She knew that, even if she told Pein the truth, or what she really wanted to say, he wouldn't hear of it.

Pein whirled around again, and began angrily pacing. "I can't believe this," he was raving. "That my own partner would betray me-!"

"That my own partner turns out to be a sadistic rapist is a shocker, too."

"He's a slave, he doesn't mean anything."

_That _struck a nerve. Konan stood up defiantly, marching right over to Pein from where she was lounging on the couch and sliding her nail file into her pocket. "Ya know what," she growled, advancing on Pein, "you are the sickest, meanest, most despicable, heinous, egotistical, sadistic, thick-headed, pig-skinned, bone-headed, tiny-brained, insignificant excuse for a jerk I have _ever_ had the _displeasure_ of being forced to work with!! And I curse you, and all who ally with you, to an early, and well…deserved…_grave!!"_

Every word Konan spat out seemed to be laced with venom, and each one struck surprisingly near to Pein's heart. He was surprised that Konan would so readily defend what he saw as a worthless excuse for a human being. But, he still had a few cards left in his hand. "He was defeated in battle, and he refused to meet my terms of dignified surrender," Pein spat. "Not to mention he was trespassing on our territory-"

"That was way over the line, Pein," Konan cut in. "I'm fine with prisoners of war. As long as they are treated fairly and with as much dignity as the situation will allow. But deliberately torturing a defenseless human is beyond justification, no matter the situation. Every human has certain rights, and you violated those rights months ago. Why I didn't say anything before, God knows. And no, not you. You're the farthest thing from a God anyone could ever hope for." Konan had been unbuttoning her cloak the entire time she had been speaking; now, she stripped it off, and threw it angrily at Pein's feet. "We're through!"

And, before Pein could stop her, she was gone.

OOOOOOOOOOO

_All around him, voices screamed. He couldn't see their faces; they had taken his sight. He couldn't hear what they were saying; he was too deep in shock. Their blows felt like they were travelling through water. He was disoriented, and fell with every strike they dealt him. Their kicks persuaded him back up. Despite the cloth tied over his eyes, his teas fell freely as he begged for mercy. Someone, anyone-but no one heeded his cries. Finally, he fell one last time-and couldn't get up. The world around him spun dangerously; veins of red trickled in from the sides of his black vision, unconsciousness high on the horizon. Hands grasped at his body, pulling him back into someone's warm embrace. Oh, how he wished they were comforting him! But, those arms only brought hurt, pain, terror, fear-everything he was already feeling, and amplifying it times ten. They each took him, one at a time. Sometimes, there were those too impatient to wait. They simply took his mouth. He could swear hours went by like this: the games they played with him, mocking him, tormenting him-_

_And when it was finally over, and they all left, they left their marks on him. Bites on his shoulders from their sharp teeth. Bloody, chaffed wrists from their ropes. Torn skin from their nails and knives. Dark purple bruises from their fists and feet. Broken bones from their unmerciful blows. Pearly white tears stained his cheeks as the blindfold finally fell from weeping eyes, beautiful white cheeks marred by reds and purples. Silver hair stained with blood fell over his one red eye, masking the Sharingan with which he had neglected to fight back. More tears fell from the left eyes than the right: Obito was weeping for him._

_One came back._

_Tremors wracked his body at the mere prospect of another. He visibly shook in the chilly air, naked and bleeding, completely the mercy of this person. They snarled something nasty in his ear: something referring to him as a slut. But then, there was a remark about his beauty: irresistible, he was called. He sobbed at the sound of this: how could someone bring themselves to hurt him like this? Why did such beauty have to be treated as a curse, something to be punished for? Had he done nothing but serve them faithfully since they day they broke him? But still, he was taken again, the distinctive odor of fish betraying his assailant as his abusive master himself. As he was raped again, he couldn't help but beg for it all to end: but when it finally did, a full twenty minutes later, he was simply picked up and backhanded into the wall. "Stay out of the bed," a harsh voice commanded. "I don't want you tonight."_

_The force of the impact knocked him unconscious. Good-he didn't want to have to see the cruel world any longer._

_When he woke up, he was alone._

Kakashi sat bolt upright, a half-strangled scream escaping his throat. He was bathed in sweat; his breath couldn't come fast enough. Soft whimpers slid past his slack lips; small sobs accompanied them. Beside him, the dark-haired male also sat up, albeit, much more slowly. "Kakashi?" Red eyes opened, and Kakashi scampered back, caught off guard. Then, it hit him: it was Itachi. He sighed with relief, and his head hung with the realization. Itachi sat up, pushing his cloak off himself and the bed of pine branches he had made for himself and Kakashi. They had taken plain black cloaks with them, instead of their Akatsuki ones: Itachi had figured they would need them. "Kakashi, what's wrong?" Itachi asked, scooting closer to Kakashi.

"It's nothing," Kakashi whispered, shaking his head. He sank back down onto the pines, turning over and trying his best to hide his tear-stained face from Itachi. "Please, Itachi-sama, don't let me trouble you. Go back to sleep."

Itachi frowned slightly in the meager light of the moon. He edged closer to Kakashi, reaching over and fully picking Kakashi up. The other male squeaked with surprise, but did not fight Itachi. Itachi cradled Kakashi in his lap, pulling the cloak over both of them. "Tell me," he said softly, supporting Kakashi's weight with one hand and gently stroking his hair with the other. "Don't keep it all inside. It'll only hurt more later, I promise."

Kakashi shook his head, but drew himself closer to Itachi all the same. Itachi sighed, and leaned back against the tree they had taken shelter under. The rain had stopped now, but Itachi couldn't shake the ominous feeling that they were still being watched by Pein. "Come on," Itachi whispered, leaning down to tempt Kakashi with a kiss. He hesitated, though, lips a mere hair's breadth from Kakashi's, and whispered again, "Tell me."

Kakashi was struggling, fighting the temptation to kiss his master. He knew that, had he ever had affection for a previous master and taken the opportunity to kiss them first, he would be beaten into oblivion. And, if it had been Pein or Kisame, played with as a sex toy all night. Kakashi struggled to keep his breathing under control, but he wanted Itachi too much to restrain himself for much longer. "B-bad dream," he stammered, trying to get away with the meager excuse. Itachi smirked slightly, and drew back.

"That's not all of it," he gently scolded, tightening his embrace. "Please, Kakashi, tell me. Don't shut me out; what, you think I won't understand? You think I won't care?"

"N-No!" Kakashi cried, turning his panicked face up to Itachi. "No, Itachi-sama, that couldn't be further from the truth! I just…" He whimpered softly, letting one more tear sneak free of his eyes. "I don't…I _can't_…Pein would-"

"They would hurt you if you talked to them."

"It's not that you don't care, it's that they didn't-I…Kisame-sama once whipped me fifty times because I spoke without being spoken to-I…you can't ask me to put that behind me so quickly, please, Itachi-sama, please, try to understand-!"

"I can, I can," Itachi hurriedly assured him, seeing Kakashi grow more distressed by the second. "It's okay, I won't punish you…not for anything. Love, it's alright…I don't want you to be afraid of me."

Kakashi closed his eyes, sobbing once and burying his face in Itachi's cloak. "Itachi-sama," he whispered, clutching at Itachi like he was afraid to let go. Itachi gently hushed him, softly stroking his hair and kissing him as gently as he dared. Kakashi was trying not to cry, but his efforts seemed to be in vain. Itachi stroked his hair, whispered sweet nothings to him, and tried to reassure him it was okay to cry. Kakashi finally lost control: he broke down and wept. Itachi spent the rest of his night trying to calm Kakashi down, and only after an hour of crying did he finally cry himself to sleep. Itachi dried Kakashi's tears with the pads of his thumbs, kissed him one last time that night, and then finally allowed himself to fall asleep.

**A/N: Boo~…angst galore. :D But, hey, isn't that what you signed up for? Review, please!!**


	8. Chapter 8

No matter how tightly Itachi held him, Kakashi couldn't sleep that night.

It had stopped raining, finally. But still, that uneasiness that gripped him before had him in an even tighter hold now. He had fallen asleep after Itachi had coerced him into it, but now, only a few hours later, he was awake again. Itachi was sleeping soundly, one hand laid possessively on Kakashi's hip, the other wrapped around his slender waist. Kakashi was lying on his side, pressed into Itachi's chest, settled firmly in his protective embrace. He had laid his head on the Uchiha's shoulder and closed his eyes, trying to sleep, but that hadn't worked. Just breathing in Itachi's scent was calming, but not enough to soothe his frayed nerves. Maybe he just needed to get up and walk around…work off a little energy, maybe, and then he might be able to get back to sleep. Kakashi slowly, ever so gently, lifted Itachi's arm from over his side, carefully laying it down next to the sleeping male. Kakashi then sat up, as slowly and softly as he could, barely causing Itachi to stir. Kakashi's heart leapt to his throat with the smallest of movements, though: Itachi, at one point, opened his eyes, only to have them flutter closed again. Kakashi released his pent-up breath, and slipped out from under the cloaks he had Itachi had covered themselves with. Kakashi grabbed his, draped it across his shoulders, and pulled it closed in the front over his half-fishnet shirt. Itachi wouldn't miss him for under ten minutes, right?

Wrong.

As Kakashi walked away, he could hear Itachi stirring behind him. He paused for a moment, unsure if it was his own footsteps that roused the Uchiha. But then, Itachi quieted again, and Kakashi walked away, sighing with relief again.

He failed to notice the shadow that followed him in the treetops, away from Itachi.

OOOOOOOOOO

Pein watched the silver-haired beauty get up and leave Itachi. So, he knew he was close, did he? His intuition was second to none. His beauty, as well. As radiant as the moonlight, as pure as the stars themselves, Kakashi was a simply stunning creature. Pein couldn't believe he had ever let him go. He had to have been insane to have done so. Kakashi's pale white skin, so smooth under his hands, the way he shivered and whimpered when you touched him just the right way-Pein felt a tremor pass down his spine at the thought. He couldn't wait to have that back in his arms. As soon as Kakashi was safely past, he began to follow the wandering spirit, carefully, silently, leaping from tree branch to tree branch, never making a sound and never using chakra. Only Deva was here now, but his other bodies were ready and willing as soon as he called them. If he should ever need them. Kakashi was smart; he would keep quiet if Pein told him to. He knew what would come if he didn't.

Speaking of, it was time he made his move.

Kakashi was standing in a small clearing in the trees, a random bare spot in the forest. The moonlight here was particularly strong; it reflected off Kakashi's utterly pure skin, sparkled in his silver hair, illuminated his every perfect, mask-less feature: Pein licked his lips with hunger, creeping closer through the trees. From behind, he decided: he wouldn't dodge if he walked right up to him, but, just in case Kakashi had gotten brave…Pein inched closer still, mesmerized by the perfect creature before him. Cloaked in black, courtesy of Itachi, Kakashi shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as if to turn around-

Pein pounced.

He landed directly behind Kakashi and, the second the sound reached Kakashi's ears, Pein had one hand over the jounin's mouth and the other firmly wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms at his sides. A startled, strangled cry burst from Kakashi's throat, but it barely qualified as a pathetic mewl the way it came out. Pein smirked, and leaned forward to whisper into Kakashi's ear:

"Hush, my dear. If Itachi hears, you'll _both _be in trouble, now. And you wouldn't want me to have to hurt Itachi, too, now, would you?"

Kakashi barely whimpered, instead shaking his head slightly and trembling violently. Pein smirked, and gently kissed the skin of Kakashi's cheek. "Good boy," he murmured. "Now, I'm going to let go of you for a second. Don't you dare move."

Pein didn't even wait for a response; he stepped back from Kakashi, releasing all contact as he suddenly whipped the long cloak from Kakashi's shoulders. Kakashi shivered violently, wrapping his arms around himself and trying to keep himself warm. Pein dropped the cloak to the ground, and began slowly circling Kakashi like a viper. "Stunning," he whispered, barely a hair's breadth from the shivering Kakashi. "And to think…you're all mine…"

Kakashi anxiously bit at his lip. He knew what came next. A small bit of blood leaked from the fresh wound, curving down the delicate line of Kakashi's lips to trail down the soft contours of his chin. Pein stopped directly in front of Kakashi, frowning slightly. Kakashi seemed to shrink four feet as Pein stopped; here it came…

Pein leaned in closer, taking Kakashi's chin in his hand and tipping his face up to his own. "Darling, what do you fear?" he whispered, placing his lips against the blood. "You know I only seek to give you the greatest of pleasures life can give…don't be so nervous…I promise, you'll love me after this."

"I could never love you," Kakashi whispered, shaking still in the chilly fall air. "Not now, not ever. You don't pleasure me, only yourself. You only see me as an object to supply yourself with pleasure. You don't care about me at all! Every one of those words you whisper to me-they're all lies! Each and every word!"

Tears sprang to Kakashi's eyes as he spoke, knowing full well that he wasn't helping his own cause at all. Still, Pein needed to hear this. As the first of crystalline tears spilled over, Kakashi continued: "But Itachi…he actually does love me. And you know how I know that?" Kakashi swallowed hard, but went on still: "I set down boundaries, and he respects them. He listens to me. He's willing to wait! He wants me, I know this! He may even want me more than you. But because he's willing to wait for me…that's why I love him, and not you. Because you could never respect me, not if you tried. Get away from me, Pein. And don't pretend you love me."

The entire time Kakashi was speaking, Pein had felt his anger mounting. Kakashi's words had struck surprisingly close to home, and he was angry beyond belief to see himself in a new light now. He lashed out suddenly at Kakashi, but to his surprise, Kakashi didn't flinch: he took the vicious slap head-on, falling to the ground silently while his silver hair flowed around his face like a halo.

As he fell, Pein could swear he saw angel wings.

Was he really going to rape an angel…?

And then, the demons inside took over. Yes, he was. And he wasn't going to feel sorry about it either. Kakashi was _his_ fallen angel-how _dare_ Itachi steal him! Pein fell upon Kakashi with a renewed vigor, ignoring the screams of the dying angel beneath him that would undoubtedly awaken the sleeping warrior behind them, barely a few hundreds yards. Pein would have his angel if it killed him!

What he didn't know was that Kakashi was dying, too.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Itachi woke at the slightest sound. But this time, a scream woke him up.

The Uchiha instantly reached for a kunai, moving to pull Kakashi close to him. But, to his surprise, there was no one there. Not attacking them, not in his arms, nowhere. Itachi instantly panicked, knowing from the moment he heard the scream that it belonged to Kakashi. He knew his lover's voice like his own. Itachi ran in the direction of the scream, not knowing what he would find when he got to the source. He abandoned the camp site as it was; it didn't matter. It didn't even cross his mind as he stumbled to his feet, and sprinted into the trees.

He had found Kakashi's chakra as soon as he looked for it; it certainly helped direct him. It kept him focused. Itachi had no other thought in his mind to get to Kakashi, and save him from whatever pain had come to haunt him. He bolted for his lover as fast as he could, feet barely skimming the ground as he ran, reinforcing his every move with chakra. His heart beat fast, not from tire, but from fear. His breath was labored in his chest, not from effort, but from the unshakable terror that some unspoken, unseen danger had come to stalk his beautiful angel. Kakashi was too innocent, too fragile, to be hurt like this-! He didn't deserve it! It wasn't real!!

Unfortunately, it was.

Itachi broke into the clearing where Kakashi's chakra lay, with a quickly-fleeing signature on the opposite side of the field. Itachi, however, barely even registered the signature, let alone that it was Pein's. All he could see was the angel crumpled in the middle of the field, lying all alone, broken, bruised, and bleeding. Itachi ran to him, his heart stopping cold when he saw his angel's cold, lifeless body. His eyes, half-open, seemed to be fixed on the blood-covered hand directly in his path of vision. Itachi rushed over to Kakashi, dropping to his knees next to the injured jounin and hurriedly reaching for his neck. He searched desperately for that faint flutter under his first two fingers that meant Kakashi was still alive-

His entire body relaxed when he felt Kakashi's pulse under his fingers, strong and regular. His chest, ever so slowly, rose and fell with his breathing. He didn't move, however, when Itachi touched his neck, running his hand up and down his vein, seeking out the pulse. It was as if Itachi wasn't even there. Kakashi seemed to have retreated to somewhere deep inside himself, possibly never to come out again.

And Itachi hated it.

The Uchiha leaned over Kakashi's perfectly still body, letting his love see him before he very carefully slid his hands around the motionless form and picked him up. Itachi wordlessly pulled Kakashi into his arms, clutching the silent form to his chest. A soft sob escaped his throat: how could he have let this happen? How could he have not seen Pein so close, and set up better guards? How could he have neglected to tell Kakashi to stay with him the entire night? Kakashi would never disobey an order, not from him! Not if it meant his life! And, right here and now, it might. Itachi held Kakashi without speaking a word for what could have been hours or days: he had lost all track of time. All he knew was that Kakashi was completely unresponsive in his arms, and might be unable to speak at all ever again.

Tentative fingers curled into the cloak at his shoulder.

Itachi immediately turned his gaze to Kakashi. The silver-haired male was suddenly clutching at him with all his life, silent sobs wracking his skinny shoulders. Itachi was relieved that Kakashi finally seemed to have woken from his semi-conscious stupor, and could only hold the jounin all the closer with relief. Kakashi's shaking form was safe in his arms, and he might have the smallest chance of recovery. That was all he cared about at the moment. But still, mute hardly counted as recovered, didn't it? Itachi had to know: and it would drive him insane until he knew.

"Kakashi?" he said softly, the first word he had spoken the entire night. Kakashi barely moved, but the smallest tilt of his head was enough to bring his tear-stained face to Itachi's. He said nothing, instead waiting for his master to speak further.

"Darling…I know what he did to you. That much is obvious. But, I need to know…did he do anything else?"

Kakashi hesitated for a moment, clearly dreading having to search through the fresh wounds for the vital memories. Then, he slowly shook his head. Itachi breathed a small sigh of relief. It wasn't much, but at least maybe his love could get over this. If they worked hard enough…Pein hadn't done anything to his mind, it seemed, so Kakashi might be able to pull through. "So why were you…so still…earlier..? I thought…love, it-it looked like you were _dead_…"

Kakashi shook his head, and then shrugged. Itachi sighed softly, pressing his lips to Kakashi's forehead. "Love, please, speak," he whispered. "Don't put me through the agony of losing your voice."

Kakashi averted his gaze from Itachi, biting his lip and seemingly fighting with himself. But, eventually, he was able to bring himself to speak. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice raspy and hoarse from screaming. Itachi's heart exploded right then and there. The first words his angel spoke after being brutally assaulted, and they were in the form of an apology?!

"Darling, no!" Itachi said vehemently. "Never, no! It's not your fault, it never was, it never will be-! Baby, please, don't blame yourself…it's not your fault, I-I swear…"

Kakashi shook his head, clinging to Itachi even tighter. "No, I-I left you, in the middle of the night…I didn't want to wake you, but I couldn't sleep…I thought…I thought a walk might make me feel better…"

Itachi felt the dams burst, and all his emotions came pouring forth with terrifying velocity. Tears stung at his eyes; they spilled over in bittersweet diamonds of sorrow. Why did everyone always compare tears to pearls? Pearls were a solid color, opalescent, milky white, just like his lover's skin. Tears were more like diamonds: translucent, see-through, but run through with rainbow vein-like refractions of light. As they fell onto Kakashi's face, Itachi suddenly felt something he hadn't felt…ever, in his life.

He felt human.

But he knew that now was the worst time. He had to be strong, for Kakashi. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Itachi slowly stood up, careful not to jostle Kakashi. "Come on," he whispered, placing the gentlest of kisses upon his lover's bruised, bloodied face. "I'm taking you home, and I won't rest until you've gotten there."

As they left the forest, Kakashi could swear he saw angel wings on Itachi's shoulders.

**A/N: Aw, angsty…but, two more chapters, peeps!! Also, vote in the poll in my profile. It concerns my next ItaKaka fic. So, if you want one, GO VOTE!! :) So, go vote. But stop to review before you do!**


	9. Chapter 9

"I need to speak with Tsunade!"

The Konoha guard looked skeptical. He was an older man, and he knew Itachi's face. Kakashi was asleep in Itachi's arms after crying himself asleep again; Itachi didn't want to wake him, anyway. "Look, kid," the man said gruffly, "I'd like to believe you, but if I believed every Akatsuki member who came by and suckered me into letting them into the village, I'd be put on trial for treason, and then executed. Not to mention the village would be in shambles, and the Hokage would tear me to pieces before I even got to my death date."

Itachi's Sharingan eyes slowly slid closed. The man had never made eye contact focusing instead on Itachi's hands, seemingly waiting for the moment when Itachi slipped up and attacked. Itachi knew he wasn't getting in this way. There had to be some other way. Well, maybe if he made this a little more convincing than words…Itachi took a step closer to the walls on either side of the huge gates. He set Kakashi down against the wall and stepped back again, the same guard he had spoken with watching his every move. The rest of the six guards on duty also kept their eyes trained on him; as if it would do any good. Itachi could incinerate them all in half a second if he wanted to. Itachi stripped off his black cloak, dumping it on the ground behind him. The man watched still, curiosity piqued. Itachi then began removing every hidden weapon from his body. Kunai, shuriken, wire, tags, bombs, scrolls, and senbon fell to the ground with clatters, thumps, and rustles of paper as Itachi went about ridding himself of weapons. Finally, he pulled one last kunai out of his ponytail, and spread his arms. "Believe me now?"

The man seemed taken aback, but still shook his head. Itachi sighed, and closed his eyes. "I'm half-blind when I do this, so don't expect anything too fancy," he grumbled. When his eyes opened again, they were a dull coal color, and decidedly lacking in sight. "How about now?"

_Well, if he's blind, he can't do much, _the man thought to himself. _Guess he's serious, if he's willing to risk it. Disarming himself and rendering himself blind…still, we need to keep a close eye on him. _"Fine," he finally consented. Itachi nodded once and walked over to Kakashi, picking him up again and striding right back over to the guard with suave ease. He gave him an expect arch of his eyebrow, waiting until two flustered guards stepped up on either side of him and stepped through the half-open gates. Itachi recognized these two as lower-ranking ninja, and also recognized that he needed to see very, very well in an enemy village, unarmed, and weighed down by his injured lover. He would need to just dodge everything, partly for image, partly because he was almost physically unable to do anything more. He slowly introduced his Sharingan again, hiding it behind an illusion of deep black eyes. These two idiots wouldn't even be looking at his eyes; they weren't quite the bravest of warriors.

Itachi was surprised to find that, even in the fog of the early morning, the streets were practically deserted. A single person here and there stared, but that was all there was to it. Itachi followed the guards closely, making it clear he was with them. They led him rather swiftly to the Hokage's Tower, seemingly wanting nothing more than to be rid of the Uchiha. Itachi didn't blame them; he was getting sick of following two quivering lumps of flesh. Finally, after trekking down the middle of Main Street for several agonizing minutes, Itachi was presented with the towering Hokage's Building, backed by the rising sun. He wasted no time; he walked right through the door opened for him. In his arms, Kakashi stirred; Itachi mounted the stairs undaunted, knowing he needed to get Kakashi to Tsunade as soon as possible. Every time he looked at those bruises on Kakashi's pale skin, it made him want to throttle Pein.

One of the men who had escorted Itachi through the village knocked on a door at the top of the stairs and straight down a hallway, stepped aside and swallowing hard. "She might be a little cranky," he warned, clearly trying to hide the shaking in his voice. Old enough to know Itachi, but young enough to count as an inexperienced whelp. "It's early…"

_Thank you, Captain Obvious._

Itachi stepped back as the door angrily swung open, and a tall, blonde woman with the largest chest Itachi had ever seen came careening out, screaming bloody murder. Itachi couldn't even decipher half of what she was saying, but he suspected it was along the lines of, "How dare you disturb my nap?!"

"Tsunade," he said sharply, "If you would kindly abandon your selfish sleep for four seconds, I believe I can catch your attention."

Tsunade rounded on Itachi, about to say something further when she caught sight of his face. "Uchiha," she growled, all her comical rage suddenly very real. "How _dare _you set foot in this village again after what you did! What have you done to him?!"

Itachi brushed past her into the office, not saying a word and sitting down in one of the chairs across from her desk. Tsunade, baffled and floored alike by Itachi's blatant disrespect, followed numbly. Itachi held Kakashi across his lap, supporting his weight with his right arm wrapped around his slender shoulders. Itachi vaguely felt Kakashi stirring, and turning into his shoulder. He smiled softly, waiting until Tsunade could see before placing his hand against a deeply visible hand-print on the side of Kakashi's face. He matched up the fingers, the heel of the hand, and the vicious nail scratches that had dripped blood long dried.

"It's too big to be mine. I didn't touch him."

Tsunade seemed terribly stricken at this realization, stepping closer to Itachi and leaning over Kakashi's still form. "Hey…Kakashi," Itachi whispered, gently pushing Kakashi up a bit more in his arms. "Come on, I know you're awake."

Kakashi whimpered softly, shaking his head and shrinking back into Itachi's arms. "Stop," Itachi said firmly. "Come on, it's Tsunade. She won't hurt you, I promise."

"As long as I keep my mouth shut about her true age."

Itachi could barely withhold his snickers. Tsunade's left eye seemed to twitch. "Alright, Kakashi, I don't know what the hell happened here, but an explanation would be nice. So, I'm going to put that little comment behind me, because obviously you've been through hell."

Itachi's face immediately darkened. "Can we talk about this later?" he mumbled, through gritted teeth. "I don't want those memories to have to surface for him again."

Tsunade exhaled slowly, both nostrils flaring as she did so. "Alright," she said. "Just give me the gist of it. I want some justification for why you're so insistent on seeing me personally, Itachi. And I also want to know what happened to him."

Itachi looked absolutely murderous. "The crudest of medical examinations will tell," he growled. "But I'll tell you, so you don't even have to touch him. Lord knows how he'd react. How long ago did he vanish?"

Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed. "Several months," she said slowly. "What's that got to do with it?"

"For those 'several months,' he was a prisoner of Akatsuki. Pein, our leader, took him, enslaved him, and broke him. Then, he was pretty much passed around the hideout from our cruelest of members and beaten, starved, tortured, and raped. Finally, he ended up in my hands. I couldn't bring myself to hurt him, nor could I bring myself to let him fall back into the hands of his abusers. So, I brought him back to you. I am risking my life to do so, Tsunade. The least you could do for me was grant me an audience."

Tsunade's eyes had been progressively widening as Itachi spoke. The Uchiha spoke in such a way that she couldn't possibly disbelieve him. He had anger in his voice that shook Tsunade, and sent shivers down her spine. She took a slow, halting step back from Itachi, his glaring eyes almost accusing her. Kakashi hadn't objected at all, suddenly seeming very quiet in Itachi's arms. Itachi himself held Kakashi like a possessive lover-which Tsunade strongly suspected he was. Kakashi shivered slightly at the memories he was suddenly bombarded with. Itachi broke gazes with Tsunade, hurriedly turning all his attention to Kakashi. "Are you alright?" he said, his voice so low it could pass for a whisper. Kakashi nodded, but leaned on Itachi more heavily than before. Tsunade shook herself fiercely, as if doing so could rid her of the horrifying tale she had just been confronted with. She stepped closer to Itachi again, vowing to herself that she wouldn't be a coward now. She crouched down in front of Itachi, laying on hand on the side of Kakashi's heard and watching the corresponding shiver he gave, shrinking away from her touch.

"He still holds this phobia," Itachi murmured, "of being touched by another human. His mind has just become so accustomed to seeing human touch as pain, so his subconscious reflex is to flinch away. Human hands have brought him nothing but suffering and agony."

Tsunade sighed, sitting back on her heels and allowing healing chakra to envelope her hand. She delved into Kakashi's brain, quickly taking inventory of any pain, numbness, or discomfort Kakashi had. She was shocked at what she saw: bone fractures, muscle lacerations, bruises, cuts, and countless other injuries, some of which were months old and had never healed properly. Scar tissue in places she had never seen it before. Scars in places she had never seen. Tsunade was almost shaking herself when she had completed her examination.

"I am thoroughly amazed," she finally said, "that he is still alive and moving. By all means, he should be on the floor in agony right now. But, somehow, he is sitting perfectly calmly in your lap, as if he feels no pain at all. His pelvis is fractured from a particularly harsh rape, both of his legs have multiple fractures in many different places, both of his arms have breaks, and his wrists both hold strained tendons. His face is perfect, though: I guess they wanted to keep him pretty. His brain, though, has sustained massive trauma emotionally, and barely less physically. I am astounded he still has all his memory. He shouldn't be able to remember a thing. Nor should he be able to think and reason, and his sense of sight should be severely screwed up. I expected his spinal cord to have ruptured from all the hits it took. His ability to move his muscles properly should also be impaired; and yet, he sits here, acting perfectly fine. He has traces of multiple drugs in his system, which I suspect were used for various heinous purposes. Itachi, were you even _aware _he was being drugged?"

"He wasn't while he was in my care," Itachi said vehemently. "I cooked for two, and nothing else got in behind my back. Unless he was doing it himself, he was not drugged."

"Knock him out, wake him up, amplify pain, suppress it, amplify pleasure, impair judgment-they also got him good and drunk a few times, judging from the awful state of his liver. His internal organs are so messed up…internal bleeding off the walls, he shouldn't even be able to pass food completely!"

"Bowel movements normal, he tells me," Itachi said, amazed. "Damn…is he really that messed up?"

Tsunade nodded. "Unless this is all some terrible new jutsu Pein developed, he is severely injured, and I don't know how he is still in one piece."

Itachi shook his head, leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on Kakashi's cheek. "What have you been hiding from me?" he murmured, offering Kakashi a small smile to let him know he didn't mean it. Kakashi shook his head; he still wasn't completely comfortable with the entire situation.

"Well?" Itachi asked. "What now?"

Tsunade growled softly, stepping over to her desk and opening a drawer. "This will clear everything up," she said, unscrewing the lid and shaking out two pills into her hand. "I suspect that he was healed, but the person who healed him didn't want anyone to know he or she was healing Kakashi. So, he or she hid the healing under a guise of all the damage combined. Not only would this keep himself/herself safe, but it would make Kakashi tormentors ease up. They don't want to kill him, so they'll stop when his bones start breaking." Tsunade walked back out from behind her desk, handing Kakashi the two pills and a small glass of water. "Swallow," she commanded, stepping back to wait. Kakashi swallowed the pills without hesitation, chasing them down with some water. Tsunade glanced at the clock on the wall, ticking off thirty seconds. "These work very quickly," she said, watching the clock. When the second hand had gone halfway around, she stepped up to Kakashi again, and laid her hand on the side of his head.

This result was much different.

"The only thing still remaining is some very minor internal bleeding, a few cuts, scrapes, and bruises, and that fractured pelvis. Every drug was cleared from his system, every injury healed impeccably-damn, someone's good!"

Itachi felt a chuckle rise in his throat at the realization. "Konan," he murmured. "Little devil, she would. Oh, but I love her for it."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, moving her hand to Kakashi's hip and resting it there. Green chakra swelled up again, healing the broken bone beneath her hand with the ease of nearly forty years of practice. Tsunade noted how, as soon as Kakashi saw where her hand was going, he turned away, raising his hands to Itachi's shoulders and taking a firm grip on the Uchiha's slender shoulders. Itachi wrapped his arms around Kakashi, holding him tightly and assuring him nothing else was going to happen to him. Tsunade had to say, she was intrigued by the two. Their relationship was something beautifully pure: it was what love was truly supposed to be. Two people who loved each other very much, and would die for each other. Two people not caring about what the world would say about them. Two people willing to give up everything for the one they truly cared about. Tsunade removed her hand from Kakashi's hip as soon as she was finished repairing the damage, and decided to leave the rest. It was all superficial.

"Itachi, I need to put him in the hospital for a day or two. Just for observation."

"Then I'm staying, too."

Tsunade glared at him. "You'll stay in the prisons."

"By his side," Itachi swore. "Never leave for a second."

Kakashi edged closer to Itachi, as if to reinforce what he was saying. Tsunade knew, in that second, that she couldn't possibly tear them apart.

"I am putting ANBU in that room."

**A/N: I listened to so much emo music writing this…does it show?**


	10. Chapter 10

Itachi, true to his word, never left Kakashi for longer than five minutes. The only time he left was to go to the bathroom, and he only ever did that when Kakashi was asleep, and he was sure he wouldn't wake up. Oftentimes, Kakashi would fall asleep in Itachi's arms, both of them stretched out on the hospital bed quite comfortably, seemingly used to sharing the space with each other. Itachi could, if one listened very carefully, be heard whispering something to Kakashi. It was never the same, but it always made Kakashi smile. The two could talk for days, and never tire of each others' voices. One day, Tsunade had asked to sit in on a conversation. She had learned next to nothing; the two spoke using an old ANBU code they were both seemingly still fluent in. The verbal code had long been changed, but it seemed Kakashi and Itachi remembered it flawlessly. Tsunade picked up a few words here and there from what little she remembered of said code, but it was introduced a few weeks before she left the village, and thus, she had barely started to learn the code before she had no further use for it. Itachi's tale that day was one of when he and Sasuke were younger, and how Sasuke always used to greet him when he came home. Kakashi eagerly responded with an update on Sasuke's progress, and then there was little more Tsunade could glean from the conversation. She had simply given up and left.

One day, Tsunade asked.

She waited until Itachi had finally given up on his bladder and left for the bathroom, and hurriedly asked Kakashi what they talked about. Kakashi had shrugged and given her a vague, ambiguous answer: "The past." Tsunade had wanted to ask more, but then Itachi came back, and she decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being. Later, after Kakashi had fallen asleep, Tsunade had come back and asked Itachi. Still gently stroking Kakashi's hair, but the smallest of smiles teasing at his lips, Itachi replied: "The past."

Tsunade could kill them for their answers. She wanted to know so badly what entranced them both so, and their one-word, flippant answers weren't getting her anywhere. Tsunade suspected they were doing this on purpose to her: speaking in a foreign tongue, withholding subject matter, and the like. Still, she came to the conclusion that it was better to let them have their moments. Kakashi's only hope seemed to be Itachi: he didn't respond to anything else-or anyone else-nearly as well as he did with Itachi.

"Do you love him?"

Itachi paused in his gentle, rhythmic movements over Kakashi's silken hair. A small hum of questioning indicated that he had missed entirely what she had said; an almost innocent gleam in his eyes told her that, in fact, her words had flown right by him. "Do you love him?" she repeated. "Do you really and truly love him?"

Itachi felt a small snicker of laughter pass from his throat into the open. "Of course," he said flatly. "Why else would I be risking my life staying here for days on end? The only thing that could have even made me bring him back to begin with was pure love. You couldn't pay me to risk my own neck like this on a regular basis."

"Except for Sasuke," Kakashi murmured. His eyes were closed; his head rested on Itachi's shoulder while the Uchiha gently combed through his hair with his fine-boned fingers. Itachi nodded slightly, his bangs brushing forward and dragging slightly along Kakashi's unmasked cheek. His Sharingan eye was bandaged to keep it closed, but the rest of his face bore no covering. Itachi sighed softly, the smooth exhale beating across Kakashi's cheek with a warm rush of air.

"Let's not get into that right now," Itachi said, placing a soft kiss on the side of Kakashi's face. "But anyway, yes, Tsunade, I do love him. I love him with all my heart and all my soul, and he is the only being on this earth I would ever die for. Hence why I am still here. His purity, his innocence, his beauty; they are all coveted by others who mistreat him. I swore I never would, and I also swore I would make sure no harm ever came to him again. I would stay here for years more, if only to make sure he was safe and happy."

"He's happy whenever he's in your arms," Tsunade commented. "You two could be kneeling in the middle of a slaughtering fest on a battlefield, and as long as he had you, he wouldn't even care."

Itachi gently kissed Kakashi again, offering little more than this as an answer. Tsunade, undeterred, continued. "Whatever made you love him, Itachi?" she asked. Itachi's gaze suddenly swung around to face her.

"Whatever made you love Dan?"

Tsunade felt a stab of pain lance through her heart, but she tried her best to move past it and see Itachi's point. She got the feeling what he was trying to say was that humans had no control over their feelings when it came to love. They could control their actions based on their emotions, but their emotions themselves would never change. No matter how much you tried to talk yourself out of it, she supposed you could never really suppress completely long-lost love, or love at all.

"Kakashi loves me because I saved him, yes, but I think there's more," Itachi said. "That's just what brought us together. I think that, no matter the circumstances, wherever we were, however we met up again, I really do think that we were meant to be together from the beginning, and it would have happened any way."

Tsunade nodded slowly. So, Itachi was a believer in predestination, huh? She had to wonder if he had a religion. "Do you believe in God?"

Itachi smiled softly. "What difference does it make?" he asked sadly. "I'm going to hell, anyway."

"You believe in God," Kakashi said quietly. "I've seen the crucifix you keep under your pillow. You keep hoping, one day, you'll forgive yourself enough so that he can forgive you."

Tsunade smiled. "Itachi, that's so sweet," she said. "But you have to realize that you can't dwell on it forever. I think what you've done for Kakashi has really changed you. You're no longer the man you once were."

"The _boy _I once was," Itachi corrected. "Before Kakashi, I was nothing but an emotionless killing machine, willing to do anything for my village. The Uchiha scandal, which I will need to inform you of later, was not what it seemed. Sasuke's situation is not what it seems, either. Again, I will need to inform you of this. But not now. Now, I know my time has come."

Kakashi sat up suddenly. "What?" he gasped, reaching out to Itachi. "Itachi, no!"

Itachi shook his head wordlessly, gently moving Kakashi to the other side of the bed and standing up. "You may see me again," he whispered. "You may not. God might send me to heaven or hell. Whichever, I don't know. But I do know this: you, Kakashi, are going to heaven. Such sweet innocence, such a beautiful spirit: there's no way you could go anywhere else. And I hope to God that we can see each other again…but not if it means dragging you down into the flames with me. I'm sorry, my love…but I have to say good bye."

"Itachi…"

Itachi leaned forward, gently kissing Kakashi's forehead. "You won't be able to find me, he promised. "I have to hide from Pein." As he spoke, he stripped off his Akatsuki cloak and scratched headband, dumping them on the end of the bed. "Sasuke I will lead to me. Pein I will lead away from me. I don't know how much time I have left, but I hope it's enough that I can see you one last time. This might be the last time. I might die today. I might die tomorrow. I might die next year. I don't know. But, any way I go, I want to die knowing that you love me, and knowing that I did the right thing."

"You did," Tsunade said, standing up. "Would you like me to see you out of the village, or can you sneak out?"

"I'll sneak out," Itachi said. "If I could have a minute…to say good bye…?"

Tsunade wordlessly nodded, and stepped out of the room. Itachi sighed, watching her back, and then sat down next to Kakashi again. The door closed, and Kakashi buried himself in Itachi's embrace.

"Don't cry," Itachi whispered, feeling the silent sobs wrack Kakashi's slender shoulders. "Don't weep for the lost. I'll be fine, I promise. God will take me when it's time. And, even if I had an army on my side, no one could stop him. He's God, and my life is in his hands." Itachi leaned forward, taking Kakashi's face in his hands and bringing him closer for sweet, chaste, parting kiss. "And so is yours. It's not your time to go yet. And not for many more years. But, I swear to you, darling, I will see you again, in this life, or the next. Good night."

Kakashi's brow furrowed in confusion. "Good night?" he repeated. "Why good night?"

"Good bye sounds like I'll never see you again. Good night insinuates that there is a coming dawn when we will see each other again. And I _will _see you again. Good night, Kakashi."

And he was gone.

OOOOOOOOOO

He hadn't made a sound.

He hadn't left a mark.

He hadn't even given a sign he was ever there to begin with.

Somehow, Tsunade just knew Itachi was gone. When she opened the door to Kakashi's room, though, she found him sitting there, with a smile on his face, and dried tear tracks on his cheeks. How long had it been since Itachi had left the room?

Kakashi glanced over at her, and his smile slowly faded. "He's gone," he said simply. "But I'll see him again." Tsunade was slightly disturbed at the calm, composed demeanor Kakashi was projecting. It almost seemed like he hadn't fully registered what had happened. Was he hallucinating, or something? Had Tsunade given him a little too much painkiller?

"I'm fine," Kakashi aid abruptly. "I promise. I know you don't believe me, but…you didn't hear what he said. Trust me, you'd have hope in the world's cruelties and global warming if you heard him, too."

Tsunade shook herself. Had Kakashi just made a _joke? _It might just fool her into thinking he was on the road to recovery! Well, she could dream, right? Hope might still be available to those who pleaded and begged with fate itself…

A knock on the door saved Tsunade from further stress and confusion. "Who is it?" she called.

"Naruto and Sakura!" a high-pitched, female voice answered. Tsunade sighed, and turned to Kakashi.

"Think you can handle those two idiots?"

"Oh, and Sasuke just got here!"

"Well, if Sasuke's there to rein them in, I think I'll be okay," Kakashi said, giving Tsunade the best smile he could muster. Tsunade returned the gesture, and then walked over to the door and opened it.

"Listen, brats," she said, straightening up over the three genin and sneering down at them, looking as threatening as she could. "He's gone through hell and worse, so don't you dare do anything stupid. Naruto, it might just be best if you just _don't talk. _I doubt Sasuke will say anything anyway, and Sakura…well, you're kinda smart, I'll let you go. Now all of you keep it to a dull roar, and don't mention Sasuke's brother!"

Sasuke's eyes instantly flashed, but he said nothing. Sakura and Naruto sheepishly edged past Tsunade's towering frame, as if afraid she would bite them if they ventured too close. The second they were out of her kicking range, though, they came alive again. Sasuke did not look impressed. He walked right past Tsunade, and then sat down next to Kakashi.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Kakashi turned his unmasked face to his students, ignoring their gasps and stares. "You guys been okay here without me?"

"Uh…uh, yeah," Sakura said awkwardly. "Wow, sensei…I didn't know you were comfortable enough around us to let us see your face…I…wow…"

Sasuke snickered. "He just got the crap beaten out of him, and worse. I doubt he'll ever be comfortable around humans in general again."

Kakashi smiled softly, and Sakura thought she had just seen the sweetest thing since puppies. "Not quite," he said. "But this will take a while to get over."

"You're skinny," Naruto remarked tactlessly.

Kakashi, however, simply rolled his eyes. "Leave it to Naruto," he muttered. "Look, maybe when you're older and I'm over this, somewhat, I'll tell you what I went through. Sasuke, your birthday was while I was away, and you are fourteen now? I think I can share with you. Sorry Sakura, you're still kind of an innocent, oblivious little girl."

How was that for lack of tact?

Naruto looked completely lost. Sakura looked disappointed. Sasuke looked annoyed.

Before Naruto could put his foot in his mouth (again,) Sasuke saved him by saying, "He'll share with me, since I sort of know what he went through, but you guys are clueless to everything except base human pain, so you're being left out."

Naruto still looked lost, so Sasuke gave up.

Kakashi gave Sasuke a withering glare, and then re-directed his attention to his students. "Look, I won't be back in action for at least another few weeks," he said, "and I probably won't even be up and walking until next week. So, just keep working with whoever your substitute sensei was, and we'll pick up from there."

Sakura nodded, deciding it was best not to let anyone else speak. Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his unruly bangs. He didn't know what to say next. Everything had changed…and, at the same time, nothing had changed at all. All the little things were different, but at a first glance, it was all still in exactly the same place. No one needed to know what had gone on in Akatsuki. Not even Sasuke needed to know the entire story. Kakashi decided that he could give Sasuke the gist without telling him about the romanticism between him and Itachi. After all, Sasuke would probably take it the wrong way, or think that something was wrong with one of them, and so, the downward spiral began…

No, one new dawn was enough. Maybe, after Itachi was dead, a few years from now, Sasuke could know about Itachi. He at least needed to know about the Uchiha scandal, and everything Itachi had done for him involving that. But what if Itachi died by Sasuke's hands…?

No. He would leave this earth only by God's will, or not at all.

"Sasuke…do you believe in God…?"

**A/N: Crappiest…ending…EVER…reviews would be nice, though…**


End file.
